Broken Down Ghost House
by Plushie-Sensei
Summary: [KaiRei, TyHil] A mysterious invitation sweeps the Blade Breakers off to the Old Apple Ridge Inn, but a horrifying turn of events takes place as the house comes alive, with the undead. Rated for: Language, Scary Images, Shounenai content.
1. A Scary Invitation

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

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This was actually on another account, but due to problems I really didn't want to deal with, I'm moving it here, so I can finally update it and finish the damn thing. I feel inspired...

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Get better soon Rei

**Don't you cry...**

**Kai's gonna save you before you die**

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Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By:Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 1: A Scary Invitation

* * *

Another typical day at Tyson Kinomiya's dojo; Kenny would tell Hilary to tell Tyson to fix something which would end up in Kai throwing relentless orders to Tyson, who in turn complained, making Max try to stop it. A chain of events, some would say, but a small pain came to heart when another member wasn't in it. Rei would sit to the side, watching everyone whilst he perfected his blade further, if humanly, or _inhumanly_, possible. He let out a sigh as the chain of events happened again and again, but he couldn't find his particular link. He didn't say anything, though, and it was difficult to tell if he actually _felt_ anything about it... 

"Rei, get over here and battle Tyson!" came Kai's harsh voice. Rei stood, fixing his blade to his launcher, obediently making his way to the dish. It always happened like this, Rei somehow finding his link in their chain. It was always one tiny link, but without it the chain wouldn't be, and that was what kept Rei going.

"Don't yell at him like that!" Tyson yelled back, making Kai's fists clench, angry at Tyson for challenging his authority.

"You little-"

"Knock it off. Come on Tyson, I have a headache so let's get this over with," Rei said, Kai hushing, though still fuming inwardly. _'I swear, these guys can be such idiots sometimes... including Kai...'_ Rei thought, heading towards Tyson.

"What? You're just going to do what he tells you! Why are you rolling over for him-?" Tyson's sentence was ultimately halted as his back met the brick wall behind him, Rei's arm against his chest, keeping him in place. Tyson's eyes widened a margin as he stared into furious golden eyes.

"What... did you say?" Rei growled, his fangs glinting as he spoke. Tyson remained silent. "This better get through your thick head, Tyson, so I suggest you listen up and hear every word..." Tyson nodded as Rei paused, swallowing hard as the pressure against his chest increased. "I don't roll over for anybody..." Tyson nodded and gasped in much needed air as Rei released him.

"Rei," Max began, but never finished as Rei began to walk away.

"I don't think we need a battle anymore, Kai," Rei said, not turning around, and made his way around the house and out of sight. Kai watched his back until he left, then turned to Tyson. Clearly, Rei was in a bad mood.

"For crying out loud," Tyson muttered, dusting off his pants, still catching his breath.

"Why is Rei in such a bad mood today...?" Max asked, looking like Christmas was cancelled or something.

"We don't have time to be worrying about Rei right now," Kai said, catching their attention. "Practice is done for the day, go get some lunch." Tyson, of course, was willing to eat and not practice, but it still bothered him how violently Rei reacted to his comment, though he knew what he had said was completely uncalled for. He bowed his head shamefully and followed everyone inside for a bite to eat. Meanwhile, Kai went the other way...

* * *

Rei sat on the sidewalk in front of the dojo, glaring at the ground. 

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Rei sighed, hearing Kai's voice behind him.

"Nothing, I'm just not feeling well," he replied in a defeated tone. Kai raised his eyebrow for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as the mail truck drove up. Rei sat up straight, a confused look on his face. Kai's face mirrored the expression. The mail truck wasn't supposed to come today; it was Sunday.

"What's this?" Kai asked as Rei stood up. Just then an odd man stepped out of the truck, a few letters and a brown packet in hand.

"Which one of you is a Mr. ..." he turned around to get a small clipboard, checking over its contents. "Mr. Tyson Kinomiya?" he asked, looking at the suspicious boys in front of him. "Not any of you, I'm guessing. Here, be sure to give this to him," he said, giving Rei the big brown packet. Rei eyed it suspiciously while Kai stepped up, just as the mailman was leaving.

"Wait! What are you delivering mail on a Sunday for?" Kai asked, the question plaguing Rei as well. The mailman hopped back into the truck and turned to face the two, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Enjoy the ride," he said, and then stepped on the gas, clumsily driving the car out of sight. Rei and Kai exchanged glances again, then looked to the package in Rei's hands. It was indeed addressed to Tyson's house, but it was for not only Tyson, but Rei, Max, Kai, Kenny, and even Hilary. Rei's golden eyes roamed over the package and he frowned.

"There's no sender..." he whispered. Somehow the tone in Rei's voice sent chills up Kai's back and down again.

"Don't say that," Kai snapped, irritated at just how scared he really felt. Rei looked up at him, puzzled at his angry tone.

"Sorry," he said, looking back to the package.

"Come, on, let's open it inside," Kai said, leading the way back toward the house. Rei gave one last look down the empty street before walking after Kai, catching up as best he could.

* * *

"Oh, what is it!" Tyson asked his eyes bright with excitement. Rei sat on one of the empty chairs at the kitchen table, while Kai leaned against a nearby counter, making sure he could see what was going on. 

"Open it and find out," Hilary said, her voice mimicking her exasperated expression. Tyson glared at her, looking away enough for Max to take his chance and grab the package.

"Well, let's see then," he said, tearing the top off. Tyson and Hilary stopped their playful argument to see what Max had discovered as Rei, Kai, and Kenny looked on with interest. Max slowly slid his hand in the package and raised his brow as his fingers came in contact with something.

"What's in it, Max?" Tyson asked eagerly, slightly bouncing in his seat from sheer anticipation.

"Paper..." Max said slowly, taking out a group of small squared papers. He placed the package on the table as he examined the papers. "They look like tickets..." he pointed out. Hilary gently pulled one from Max's grasp as she held it up to the light.

"They're airplane tickets," she said.

"There are some other kinds of tickets too," Max said, sorting out the different tickets. Kai decided to join the others at the table, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Hotel tickets?" Rei asked, holding one up for him and Kai to see. They exchanged worried glances.

"Who would be sending us hotel tickets and why?" Kai asked, looking down to the table. Rei grabbed the package, this time, making a surprised face when he felt the bag still had contents.

"What's this?" he said, pulling out a small envelope. With the envelope came a rattle on the kitchen table. Everyone looked down to see a ring of about six keys on the table.

"What's going on...?" Kenny asked, a thick cloud of confusion, suspicion, and other emotions hovering over their heads. One in particular was dread. Who sent these items? How did they know where the Blade Breakers were? How did they know where Tyson lived? These were only some of the questions reeling in their heads...

"There's a letter," Rei said, opening the envelope. After a few seconds, Rei unfolded a piece of paper and scanned over the text briefly, his eyes widening as he did so.

"What's it say?" Kai asked, snapping Rei out of it.

"It says:

"Hello recipitants... There are three sets of six tickets for a plane, ferry, and hotel. This is an all expenses paid vacation to the lovely little town of Devin's Creek where lots awaits you, including mystery and what not. Please do not find this strange, for this was requested by none other than Mr. Dickinson himself. Now that this has some familiarity, please take your attention to the ring of keys..." Rei paused as everyone looked to the untouched keys on the table. "There purpose will not be told in this letter. The keys will indeed help you later on, so please do not loose them. Think of it as a challenge in a way..." Rei cleared his throat, feeling suddenly very uncomfortable with all the eyes on him. He somehow felt the odd sensation of someone staring at his back... "Thank you for your time, and good luck! Below is the address of where you'll be staying and everything else should be explained when you arrive. Please look for a Mr. Maple when you arrive at the airport and further information is on the back." With that, Rei finished, briefly reading over some material on the back.

"Vacation?" Max asked turning to Tyson. Tyson shrugged, his face lighting up in a huge grin.

"But hey, it's an 'all expenses paid' trip! Why not-"

"No." Everyone turned to Kai whom was already standing up.

"Why not?" Hilary asked, Tyson and Max looking stepped on, their hopes of a vacation dashed with one little insensitive-

"I say we go," came Rei's reply. Kai glared at him while Tyson and Max looked hopeful once again.

"What?" Kai challenged, irritated that so many people would dare challenge his authority.

"Obviously, Mr. Dickinson thinks we need a vacation and sent us this. It would be impolite to refuse," he reasoned. Kai seemed unaffected.

"It's too suspicious," Kai said. "We're not going and that's final," he said, then left the room. Everyone sighed.

"There goes our vacation," Max whined as Tyson slammed his forehead against the table. Hilary and Kenny both bowed their heads as well. Rei, however, stood up and made his way into the other room with Kai, after placing down the letter.

_

* * *

'It's completely ridiculous. An all expenses paid vacation, my ass... How do they know it's not a trap or something?' Kai thought, pacing in the other room. He stopped for a moment, a look of regret on his face. "Though I really want to know why it was sent to us..." _

"Well, you can find that out when we get there," Rei said, making Kai jump. His nerves already on edge with the whole mail guy... thing...

"I said no," Kai repeated, but Rei waved him off, taking a seat on the recliner.

"I heard you the first time," he whined. "Why can't we? You're making everyone all depressed and that's not good for growing boys... and a... girl..." Rei pulled a confused face for a moment, before turning back to Kai, whom was rubbing his arms as if he was cold.

"Are you alright," Rei asked. Kai sent a death glare his way.

"No, I am not alright," he yelled. "It's freezing in here, and I don't want to... Nobody is going, okay!" he yelled again, plopping down on the couch. Rei stared at him through narrowed eyes.

"You're just scared..." he teased, leaning back in the chair. Kai opened his eyes, a deathly glare in place.

"Come again...?" Rei smirked.

"Poor Kai... That whole ordeal must've given you the willies..." Rei opened one eye to see Kai fuming.

"Like hell I'm scared!" he snapped.

"Then we're going?" Rei asked hopefully. Kai glared.

"No."

"Alright, chicken..."

"I'm not scared!"

"Whatever you say, scaredy-cat..."

"ALRIGHT!" Rei flinched at Kai's deafening shout. He looked up, a hopeful expression back in place. Kai slumped in the seat. "We'll go..." he breathed, defeated. Rei smiled brightly, then turned to the kitchen doorway where Tyson and the others all of a sudden jumped through and onto Kai.

"Thank you, Kai!" Hilary said, hugging his arm. Tyson shook his hand vivaciously, fake tears in his eyes as Max and Kenny danced around, holding hands.

"Yeah, man, you're the greatest!" Tyson said. Kai put on a sour face as Hilary and Tyson continued to annoy him. Rei looked back into the kitchen, seeing the shining keys from his seat. Still, something about the whole ordeal seemed a bit... odd...

But, hey! At least they were going on a vacation!

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TBC...


	2. Old Apple Ridge Inn

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

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Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 2: Old Apple Ridge Inn

* * *

They were packed, and ready to go. Kai was still irritated, but that was okay, because they were used to him being anal about things. They were now on an airplane, making their way to... that place... Kai stared out the plane window a bored expression on his face, though there was a hint of fear in his eyes. 

"Ease up, Kai," Rei's voice soothed. Kai twitched slightly, signalling he heard, though it was difficult to follow through. The whole thing made him feel very uneasy. Soon, passengers made noises of excitement as a coast formed underneath the clouds. Rei looked out the window Kai was looking out of with interest. Rei peered over to Kai, smiling when he saw Kai's eyes secretly shining with wonder.

"It's beautiful," Hilary sighed, Max, Tyson, and Kenny agreeing with her. Soon the plane landed and everyone made their way into the terminal. Many people loaded out of the plane, smiles on their faces, obviously happy to be there. Kai made sure to stick close to the group as the people crowded around him. He didn't like crowds. He turned to the others, noticing Rei standing right next to him, his curious golden eyes darting uneasily from person to person. Obviously he wasn't alone in the feeling...

"Hey guys, come on!" Tyson yelled from a distance. Rei and Kai made their way through the people to see the other four near a tall scrawny man in a plain gray suit. Kai kept his distance as Rei joined the others.

"Hello, children," the man said. "I'm Mr. Maple." He removed his hat for a moment in a polite fashion making Hilary giggle when he winked at her. Max giggled as well when he noticed Tyson glare at both of them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, so, Mr. Maple, where do we go from here?" Tyson asked, stepping in front of Hilary. Of course, she smacked him on the arm for being so impolite.

"Well, we take a small walk to the dock and it's off across the river to the Old Apple Ridge Inn." Hilary and Tyson smiled at each other, excited.

"Let's go then!" Max cheered and followed Mr. Maple toward the exit of the airport. Once they reached the outside, Kai spoke up.

"What about our luggage?" he asked, stopping. Mr. Maple smiled at him, making Kai's hair stand on end.

"Well, we're delivering it to the Inn beforehand, so you don't carry as much," he answered, then began his stride again. Kai's eyes narrowed, but he followed, rather reluctantly.

They passed by many shops and small houses on their way. The town seemed very small to have an airport in it, but no one bothered with that. Many people looked very friendly and waved to them, while addressing Mr. Maple in a hello. Obviously it was a pretty tight knit community. Rei admired the closeness of the people, the situation reminding him of home. Kai looked to his right as everyone was looking to an old shop Mr. Maple was pointing out to the left. He noticed an alleyway with people passing by it, but something was odd. He stopped staring at the alleyway, when a couple walked by. Kai's eyes dilated as he saw a young girl standing in the alleyway... or more hung in the alleyway. In a flash it was gone, but it was enough to scare Kai out of his mind.

"Holy-!" Kai yelped, backing up. Rei and the others turned around hearing Kai's yelp and Rei gasped seeing a man running right toward him, carrying a bough of hay.

"Kai, look out!" Rei yelled, and just as Kai turned, the man collided with him and hay flew everywhere. The others ran up to him, fishing through the hay before Tyson got a hold of Kai's collar, pulling the out-of-it child out of it.

"Are you okay?" he asked. His only answer was a small groan and little swirlies replaced Kai's crimson eyes. Rei sighed in relief looking up in time to catch the man running around a corner, knocking over someone else.

"What the hell was that all about?" Rei growled. Mr. Maple placed a chilling hand on Rei's shoulder.

"Just a low down thief. Come boys, and miss, we should be getting you to your hotel before nightfall," Rei shivered as the man's hand left his shoulder, leaving a cold feeling behind. He turned to see Kai standing, Tyson and Max helping as he brushed himself off. Rei's eyes narrowed, his mind wandering back to why Kai could've yelped earlier. Maybe it _was_ a mistake to come here...

* * *

Hilary stood leaning against the railing of the ferry, the wind in her soft brown bangs. 

"Wow, I've never been on a ferry before," she cooed. Tyson shrugged, standing beside her.

"You've been on a boat before. What's the difference?" Hilary shook her head.

"There's a difference, trust me," she said, not letting Tyson's_ mood_ kill hers. Rei, Kai, Max, and Kenny all sat near the rear of the ferry on chairs, Mr. Maple riding in the steering room. Rei peered over to Kai, whom was watching the waves that formed behind the boat. He had a fearful expression on. That scared Rei. Kai was never scared of anything, and here he was looking at the waves like there were... let's not go there... Rei swallowed, getting up to choose a closer seat to Kai's.

"Hey," he said softly, though it was obviously enough to make Kai twitch. Kai took a deep breath, hating the feeling of fear. Rei cast him a worried glance, making Kai look at him.

"What?" he asked. Rei shrugged.

"Nothing, just wondering why you're so uptight," he answered truthfully. Kai sighed, closing his eyes, before opening them, a dreadfully tired look on his face.

"There was an alley..." he started. Rei perked up, ready and willingly to listen if it would help. "There was girl... hanging in the alley," he said, making the color in Rei's body drain considerably.

"Kai, don't say things like that!" Rei yelled, but frowned further when Kai turned to him.

"I'm serious. She was hanging by the neck, looking at me," he said, his voice monotone. Rei's breathing became difficult as he stared at Kai's face.

"We're here boys... and girl!" Hilary smiled with satisfaction at Mr. Maple's announcement, while the others looked forward, several of them frowning at the gloomy lone dock with lots of weeping willows surrounding the area. Rei turned back to Kai, blinking in surprise as the youth stood.

"Kai," Rei called, making Kai stop for a moment before he continued. Rei felt fear creep up his spine as he stood as well, walking a bit too fast. "Wait!" he said, then stepped forward, gasping as his foot slipped forward. His body starting falling backwards in a painfully slow motion. He could see Kai slowly turning toward him as the others slowly ran toward him. Everything was so damn slow, it frustrated Rei, until his body met with the freezing depths of the bayou. He'd fallen overboard.

_'Kai!'_ he felt himself yelling mentally, since he was underwater. He looked around him, darkness everywhere, nothing visible at all, not even the boat. He could see a faint glitter of light above him and started for the surface... when something grabbed his ankle. He looked down, letting all the air from his lungs at the sight he saw.

* * *

Kai peered over the edge, frantically searching for Rei's body, but couldn't see anything in the murky depths. 

"Rei!" Hilary yelled, hoping to get answer, even though she reluctantly doubted she would get one.

"Where are you buddy!" Tyson yelled. Kai wasn't too keen on the idea of jumping in after him, but he was willing to. He was just about to pull off his scarf when a gasp was heard over the water. They all looked out to see Rei swimming quickly to the boat, in a rather clumsy and frantic motion.

"Rei!" Max called out as he came to the edge of the boat. They helped Rei out but were all pushed away as Rei still tried to get away. He stumbled forward, falling flat on his chest, yelping as if someone was kicking him over and over again. Kai kneeled down beside him, grabbing his shoulders, forcing him to be still.

"Rei, calm down!" he said. Rei continued and toss and turn, though less and less. They all waited patiently until Rei was only whimpering, his eyes closed, breathing hard. Mr. Maple handed Hilary a towel in which she used to wrap around Rei, being very careful when she helped him up. Kai watched Rei tremble with fright as rage built up inside him. With each whimper Kai grew more and more furious. "Take us back!" he yelled, startling everyone.

"I'm sorry?" Mr. Maple asked, a pleasant smile on his face.

"Take us back!" Kai yelled again, threatening to knock him out, but Tyson and Max restrained him. Mr. Maple's smile soon straightened, forming more of a smirk.

"I can't," he said simply. Kai growled.

"Why not!" he yelled, completely forgetting his fear. Mr. Maple turned to look up at the captain on the ferry and nodded. The captain nodded back and soon the anchor dropped. "What are you doing!" Kai snarled, trying to break free of his friends' grasps.

"You're stuck here for two weeks, so I suggest you get used to it," Mr. Maple said, showing them the way to the docks with his hands. Kai stood there with a helplessness about him. He couldn't exactly swim back. He couldn't even see the town anymore. He stood there defeated. They really were stuck here for two weeks... Tyson and Max let go of Kai once they knew it was okay, and both looked up as Kai spoke, his voice low and dangerous.

"Alright... Since we're _stuck_ here you might as well tell us just what this place is." Kai looked up, angry red eyes peering from under his silvery bangs. Mr. Maple remained silent, his face passive now.

"I'll tell you inside," he said finally, turning to lead the group toward land. Hilary looked back to Rei, whom didn't look like he was going to stand anytime soon. Not if she had any say that is...

"Someone should carry him inside," she said, catching the boys' attention.

"I'll do it," Kai offered, surprising the others. Hilary helped Rei onto Kai's back, nonetheless, and soon they were off, following Mr. Maple to whatever awaited them...

* * *

Kai looked from side to side, feeling uneasy surrounded by nothing but trees and fog. He glared ahead, his eyes meeting with the back of Mr. Maple's head. 

"We're here," the said man whispered, pushing open a small wooden gate. Kai pulled Rei into a more comfortable position on his back before walking through, followed closely by the others. They all looked up seeing an old wooden house, its body taking up a large amount of land. It could be big enough to call a mansion, but not that pleasant to look at.

"We're staying here?" Hilary asked, grabbing Tyson's arm in fright.

"Yes," came the simple response. Maple soon walked forward, the others following reluctantly.

Inside the front room was huge; a pair of wooden staircases on either side leading up to a small walkway, that lead to rooms most likely. Straight ahead was a small desk with papers scattered across it and on the wall behind it was a board cover in hooks with keys hanging from most of them. Perhaps they weren't the only guests in this horrid place since some of the keys were missing.

"How may I help you, gentlemen and lady?" Kai snapped around, seeing a young lady smiling sweetly at them, now standing behind the previously empty desk. Her accent was thick with Irish ancestry while she wore a simple uniform, her bright red hair tied back in a neat bun.

"Where'd you come from?" Tyson asked, obviously a bit frightened at her sudden appearance.

"Oh, me? I come straight from Ireland, yah? Beautiful place, alas, I had to leave to find a good job. Came here to good ol' Apple Ridge Inn and it's been my home ever since," she explained, her voice soft and lively.

"Miss Mary, these folks have reservations," Maple said, putting his hands on Max and Kenny's shoulders, the boys not looking too thrilled about it.

"Aye, I see. Well, what would your names be then?" she asked, pulling out an old worn book from under the desk. She opened it, dust flying everywhere, the pages looking incredibly old. She coughed and waved the dust away smiling sheepishly to her guests. "Sorry 'bout that. You see, it's been a while since we last had guests..." she said, then pulled a pen out of her uniform shirt pocket. This confused Kai... So why were there missing keys then?

"These are the Blade Breakers, Miss Mary, the bladin' team I was telling you about," he explained. Miss Mary smiled and nodded, turning around to get three keys.

"Alright then, you're on the list! Here are your keys, lads... and lass, and George will show you to your rooms," she said motioning to look to the side. Max turned his head and came face to chest with a large butler looking person, his eyes closed, his face heavy with wrinkles. Max yelped, ducking behind Kenny as the tall man took in a slow breath.

"Follow... me..." he said very slowly, then turned around and began walking up the stairs. Tyson and Hilary exchanged worried glances for a moment, and then saw Kai begin his trek up the stairs, so they followed.

"Oh, is your friend alright?" Miss Mary asked concern evident in her Irish voice.

"He's fine, just needs some rest and a change of clothes." Miss Mary nodded to Kai's sudden answer, backing off as they continued to walk up the steps.

"They're not too happy about staying here," Maple said, walking up to the front desk.

"You didn't tell them..." Mary started, but stopped as she saw Maple shake his head. "Well, at least you didn't warn them," she said, a playful smile on her lips. Maple nodded looking up the steps. He soon walked away, the desk he was standing next to empty once again.

* * *

George -the butler apparently- put the key in the first door and opened it, stepping aside for Kai to walk through. 

"Your key... sir..." George slurred, holding out the key he'd just used. Kai took it uneasily, and then walked into the room, nodding to the others, trying to make them feel a bit more at ease than himself. They nodded back, turning to continue following George down the hallway to their own rooms. Kai looked around the room, eyeing the old fashioned style. It seemed alright, nothing too dusty or old looking. There was even a small plate of bread and butter on the table separating the two mahogany beds, with dark red sheets. Kai sighed, his back aching from carrying Rei all the way there.

He placed Rei down gently on one of the beds -the one closest to the door- and sat down beside him, cracking his stiff back. He let out a relieved sigh then turned to Rei. Rei's eyelids were moving slightly as were his limbs, and soon bright golden eyes opened to stare at the canopy over the bed, it's sheets the same color as the ones he was lying on.

"Huh... Kai!" Rei gasped suddenly, sitting up in one swift movement. Kai placed his hands on Rei's shoulders, trying to calm the terrified boy down.

"Relax, Rei," Kai said, waiting for Rei to calm down. Rei took one uneasy breath after another until he was alright again. He turned to Kai, his eyes mirroring his inner fright.

"Where are we?" he asked in a shaky voice. Kai looked around for a second, releasing Rei's shoulders.

"At the hotel..." he said. Rei frowned, not really wanting to hear that.

"Oh... Kai, we have to leave," Rei spoke up. Kai looked up as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know," he replied.

"No, you don't understand. You should've been there... in the water. The things I saw..." Rei pulled his knees up to his soggy chest, holding his head with his hands. Kai cast him a stern look.

"What..." Kai thought about this. Did he really want to know what Rei saw? It would help the boy to get it out though. "What did you see?" Kai asked, deciding the Rei's sanity came before his own.

"I was trying to get to the surface... and something grabbed my ankle... Or... It was someone..." Rei said, gripping onto his head. Kai could feel his stomach lurch at those words but nodded, pressing Rei forward.

"Some_one_?" Kai asked. Rei nodded.

"There were... corpses down there, Kai... And all that time I kept wishing over and over that you'd come get me... I've never been so scared before..." Rei said, blinking back tears. Kai's eyes softened at Rei's statement. He wanted _him_ to safe him? Of course, Kai was the strongest, physically, out of the group, but why would Rei want him in particular. More importantly, so as not to give himself a headache, Kai focused on what Rei had said earlier. There were corpses in the water...

"I'm sorry, Rei..." Kai whispered, those simple words catching on his tongue. He was unused to saying such things to people, but he felt that he should apologize. He wanted to jump in after him, but he waited too long. Luckily Rei came out anyways.

"You shouldn't apologize," Rei said, rubbing his arms, feeling very cold. Kai shook his head, standing up. He noticed their luggage stacked by the window so he went over to get Rei's; so the poor boy could get warm.

"I should. It's my fault for letting you guys talk me into coming in the first place. But I don't blame you, so don't get all depressed," Kai said, his voice a bit harsh, though not as bad as it usually was. Rei looked up as Kai placed his suitcase on the bed. "You should change into something warmer. You don't want to get sick here of all places." Rei nodded, pulling his case closer so as to open it. Kai opened the curtains, dust blowing out a bit. He looked out onto the grounds, seeing the dense forest with fog and a small black iron gate to the far right toward the back of the house. He couldn't see what was beyond that, nor could he read the obscure letters on the sign above the gate. He sighed closing the curtain again, not liking the look of the outside and its -dare he say it- dead composure.

"What do we do now?" came Rei's small voice. Kai turned around as Rei finished pulling on a long sleeved shirt, baggy pants and socks finishing his attire. Kai sighed, walking over to his own suitcase.

"We sleep. We'll discuss what to do tomorrow, and get that Maple guy to tell us what the hell is going on..." Rei nodded and turned around as Kai began to undress. He looked down at his bed with a sour expression. He really didn't like being here. Soon a small lump in the sheets caught his attention. He stared at it for a while before it started to move. Rei's eyebrow quirked in wonder as the lump moved closer and closer to the pillows located at the head of the bed. Rei hesitantly reached out pulling the covers down and jumped in fright. A small bat screeched as it crawled around Rei's bed, refusing to leave.

"What the hell!" Rei yelled, putting his arms up to shield himself. Kai walked over then, now in a pair of soft pants and a t-shirt. He saw the bat and looked at Rei with a confused expression.

"So move it," he said.

"Are you out of your mind!" Rei shrieked in his ear, making him step back. "There's NO way I'm going to touch it!" he vowed. Kai rolled his eyes, putting his hand near the bat.

"Come on, Rei, it's just a harmless bat," Kai reasoned. Rei seemed unconvinced as the bat hung from Kai's hand by its tiny feet, flapping its wings a bit.

"You're crazy. Don't come crying to me when it bites you," Rei said, glaring at the little creature now clinging to Kai's arm but its tiny claws.

"Aww, look, he even has a little bell collar," Kai teased, holding the creature closer to Rei, who in turn jumped on Kai's bed.

"Get that thing away from me!" he yelled. Kai sighed, turning around to take the bat outside. The bat did, in fact, have a small collar on with a little bell, making Kai wonder if someone actually kept bats as pets around this place. Great way to add to the wierdness. He let the bat go out the door, smiling a bit as the bat scurried down the hall. He closed the door once again and turned around to see Rei sitting on his -Kai's- bed, glaring at him.

"Oh jeez, Rei, it was only a little bat," Kai said, walking over to his bed. Rei continued to stay put, following Kai's form with the glare still in place. "Go to sleep, Rei. You'll feel better in the morning." Kai pulled the soft covers up and got under them, pulling them over his shoulders, and soon sighed as he was comfortable enough to sleep. Something against his back, though, kept him up. He got up and turned around seeing Rei under the covers next to him. A hue of pink went straight to Kai's cheeks. "What are you doing?" Kai asked, irritated. Rei looked at him with innocent golden eyes.

"There's no way I'm sleeping in that bed. So I'll room with you. Goodnight, Kai," Rei replied, turning over to go to sleep.

"Go to your own bed," Kai said, still angry. Rei shook his head.

"No way." Kai growled and was about to push Rei off the bed but he stopped as Rei spoke. "Please don't kick me off... I really don't know what I'd do if I had to be by myself again..."

Kai stared at Rei's back for a while before sighing in defeat. He turned around and laid down as he'd done previously and soon found himself comfortable. The warm body next to him wasn't that bad either. He opened one eye as he felt Rei cuddle into his back, most likely because he was still cold. Kai frowned when he felt Rei's body shiver against his own. He decided one night wouldn't kill him.

Though he probably should've thought of rewording that last thought...

* * *

TBC...


	3. More To The Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 3: More To The Story

* * *

There was a small knock, not too loud, so it was difficult for someone to wake up to something so small. Another knock, but this time louder, came and went. It came and went every now and then. A loud thump and Max opened his eyes. He sat up in his bed, looking to the side, seeing Tyson sleeping in his own bed, arms and legs sprawled out in an unruly manner. 

_'Well, Tyson seems to have adjusted nicely,'_ Max thought, smiling in exasperation to the loud snoring coming from said boy. Soon the thumping sound came again, making Max start. He looked up seeing the chandelier shake a bit with a few specks of dust floating away from it. Something was running around up stairs, but without a clock, Max couldn't tell if it was too early or too late for them to be doing that. He wondered why people would be running around at this time anyways, since it still looked dark. He suddenly heard children's laughter floating around upstairs. He sighed. _'Kids...'_ he thought, getting back under the covers. He soon fell asleep, the laughter dimming down a bit. The chandelier stopped shaking, and the dust settled, and above that? An empty hallway... Though the children's laughter didn't stop...

* * *

The sun shone high in the sky the next morning and a wonderful scent floated through the house as a woman prepared breakfast in the kitchen. At the front desk, Mary prepared papers and organized and Mr. Maple sat on the porch, a pipe in his mouth. In the dining area a young girl with narrow black eyes and short black hair put plates down, nodding when she deemed her work acceptable. She didn't smile even though she seemed satisfied and brushed some dust off of her maid dress, reaching over to a mantle to retrieve her duster. She soon disappeared into a doorway, dusting as she went along. 

Meanwhile, upstairs, the Blade Breakers were waking up from their unusually peaceful slumber. Kenny and Hilary were up and dressed and Tyson and Max were ready to eat, but the other two team members were barely opening their eyes to the new day.

Kai stirred in his sleep as he heard footsteps in the hall, and voices he recognized as Tyson and the others. _'At least they're all still alive...' _he thought, as cheerful as ever. He yawned a bit and stretched his numbed muscles then laid back down on his side. He opened his eyes again, but this time met with Rei's sleeping face. Kai blinked in surprise, forgetting that Rei had been in his bed rather than his -Rei's- own. He continued to stare at the boy for a while, watching the peaceful face with a raised eyebrow. Rei moved slightly, his shoulder coming closer to his chin, making a small lock of dark hair fall over his nose. Kai blinked a few times before hesitantly reaching over to remove the lock. Kai marveled at the softness of just a few strands, holding them a bit longer than he originally intended. He carefully pushed the hair behind the boy's ear, his fingers lingering on the slightly pointed tip.

It was amazing how inhuman Rei looked, though he acted the most human out of all of them; or how a human should act. He was the kindest of them all, always putting others before himself, and always knew where his loyalties lie. Kai glanced to his hand which had taken residence on Rei's soft cheek, unbeknownst to himself. He would've snatched his hand away, but the small movement of Rei's smile kept his hand there. Kai's chest went cold then, feeling strange. Why was he being so tender to Rei all of a sudden? Falling for his antics on getting him to let them come here in the first place, and _wanting_ to jump in the water to save him? _Offering_ to carrying him the _entire_ way to their bedroom, and _allowing_ him to sleep in his bed? It confused Kai, his own actions and not caring what he did. It was unusual for him to allow someone to affect him this way.

"Kai?" came Rei's raspy voice. Kai gulped, slowly pulling his hand away from Rei's face. He sat up as Rei did the same, rubbing his eyes in a cute manner. Kai gave him a glare, though it was softer than he intended.

"What?" he asked, rather than barked. Kai mentally growled, wanting to sound more fierce than that. Rei looked around, a sleep ridden look in his eyes.

"Where are we?" he asked suddenly. Kai groaned.

"At the hotel," he said through gritted teeth. Rei nodded.

"Oh," he said. Kai watched him for a while, wondering what he'd do next. He nearly fell out of bed when Rei lied back down, yawning a 'goodnight'. Kai growled again and threw off the covers, instantly regretting so as a rush of cold air hit both him and Rei. He, once again, almost fell off his bed as Rei threw himself into Kai. Rei tightly wrapped his arms around Kai's waist, hollering about being freezing and surrounded by water. He sounded so childish, though Kai couldn't blame him. Kai sighed, once again, allowing Rei to cling to him. He waited until Rei calmed down.

"Rei, there is no water here. Yes, it's cold, but there's no water." Rei looked up, still holding tightly onto Kai, his expression changing from whiny to relieved.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Kai couldn't believe this and almost slapped himself in annoyance.

"Yes, I'm sure," he said, trying to sound as patient as possible. Rei looked down, pressing his cheek against Kai's stomach, not wanting to let go just yet. He could feel his stomach rumble silently, mentally guessing that Kai was feeling rather hungry. "I'm pretty sure breakfast is ready now, Rei. We should probably get dressed and go eat." Rei nodded, hesitantly relinquishing his grip on Kai's abdomen. Once Kai was free, he stood up and began to change. Rei sat there, his hands in his lap, and his head down. Inside, he felt guilty for being such a burden to Kai. He knew Kai was already busy trying to help himself... No matter how selfish _that_ sounded... "Are you going to get dressed or what?" Kai asked, buckling his belt, and grabbing his shirt. Rei's eyes lidded as he fell forward on the bed, looking like he couldn't move anymore.

"I don't feel so good..." he murmured against the soft sheets. Kai fixed his gloves on his hands, then folded his arms over his chest.

"How so?" he sighed. Rei mused over his pains...

"My stomach hurts, I have a headache, my ankle hurts, and it kind of hurts when I breathe..." Rei glanced up at Kai watching him as he watched him back.

"You should eat something then," he said, walking toward the door.

"But-"

"You'd get rid of your headache and stomachache if you ate something. You can deal with anything else afterwards." Rei watched as Kai opened the door and stepped out. He did **NOT** want to be left alone in _this_ house.

"Wait!" he yelled, reaching out while standing on his knees. Kai stopped just as he rounded the corner, his eyes darkened. Rei told him to wait once before, and because he didn't, Rei ended up falling into the water. He let out a sigh. A part of him wanted to stay anyways; for some reason unknown to him...

"Alright..." he mumbled, grumpily turning around. He stopped in front of the door when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around seeing a shadow coming up the steps. Kai's eye narrowed at the weird formation it made, some kind of light making the shadow dance, making it nearly impossible to tell who or what it was. Kai's heart rate sped up a bit as a young girl with short black hair walked up, a candle in hand. She made her way to a darkened lamp attached to the wall, and took off the covering. She lit the candle inside, then replaced the covering, turning her attention then to Kai.

"Breakfast is ready downstairs... Your friends have started without you," she said, her voice monotone, and slightly scratchy. Kai nodded looking a bit confused. She was dressed in a simple maid uniform, and her face held no expression what so ever. Almost like a doll. "Did you have a nice sleep?" she asked. It was intended to be friendly, but he couldn't help but felt a bit uneasy, since it held no emotion.

"I did..." Kai said, his voice edgy. The woman then bowed politely.

"I apologize for my rude behavior. My name is Evelyn and I will be happy to make you feel at home." She stood straight up in an almost robotic fashion.

"Okay..." Kai said and watched as she turned around and walked back toward the stairs.

"Kai," Rei whined. Kai looked up, his eyes narrowing as he saw Rei trying to free himself from the tangled sheets that had trapped him as he fell off the bed. "Help me..." he whined again. Kai could only shake his head in exasperation.

"You are really trying my patience, Rei..." Kai said -more so to himself- as he went to help the poor boy.

* * *

Max, Tyson, Kenny, and Hilary all sat happily eating a beautiful feast on an equally beautiful table. Tyson spooned the last of his rice into his mouth sighing with happiness at its exquisite taste. He turned to the three people standing near the table, one a young girl in a maid uniform -Evelyn- and another was a large sized woman dressed in all white with an apron and a chef's hat on. She had a pudgy face with a large friendly smile slapped right on. The last was the tall silent butler, George. 

"This is great!" he said, talking to the obvious chef.

"Oh, I'm glad you like it, young man, and you can call me Mrs. Romanoff." Tyson blinked a couple times at her strange accent before nodding and smiled brightly.

"Okay!" Max however had a strange look. Hilary gave him a prod in the ribs.

"What's up?" she whispered. Max turned to her, motioning toward Mrs. Romanoff.

"I've heard that name before... I just- Never mind," he said, smiling. "Forget it." Hilary gave him an unsure look as he continued eating, but passed it off as she wanted to eat as well. Though little did Max know, he had heard that name from before, and if he remembered, it wouldn't have done much good to his sanity...

"Your name sounds Russian, Mrs. Romanoff, are you from Russia?" Kenny asked. Hilary looked up as well, Max peering over his bowl with interest.

"Indeed, I'm from Russia," she said. "I've been born in home country, but moved here for a good job. I've been here ever since," she mused. Max's eyes narrowed as he slurped up his noodles. He then remembered something.

"Hey, are there other guests here?" he asked. Evelyn looked up at this.

"Why do you ask, little one?" she asked, her voice still monotone. Max shrugged.

"It's just, I heard some kids upstairs from my room. They were laughing and such, but it was really late last night apparently," he said, rolling it over in his head. Evelyn drew in a breath and turned to Mrs. Romanoff and George.

"Don't worry about them, they're harmless," came Miss Mary's voice. Max turned around meeting with her friendly face and almost fainted from fright.

"Jesus!" Max yelped, holding a hand over his heart.

"Sorry 'bout that, lad," she smiled, standing behind Max and Hilary's chairs.

"So there are children here?" Kenny asked. Miss Mary brushed off the subject.

"Never mind that, so how's the food, folks?" she asked. Tyson howled in delight as another serving of chicken was dropped onto his plate, sidetracking everyone.

"The food..." Tyson breathed. "Is wonderful..." Hilary groaned deciding it better to just finish her food as Kenny did the same. Max however, had millions of thoughts running through his mind. He had heard of Mrs. Romanoff before, and he was determined to find out where and when he'd heard of her exactly.

* * *

Rei fixed his shirt glaring at Kai as the two of them made their way down the stairs. 

"You know where you're going right?" Rei asked, still messing with his shirt. Kai merely closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, picking up the pace. Rei watched him walk faster with a menacing glare. _'Jeez... Kai's sure being a jerk this morning...'_

The two of them made their way into the front room and was greeted by Evelyn.

"This way..." she motioned, pointing toward a large set of doors beside her. The front desk was empty again, as Kai noticed. That girl was almost never there... Kai turned away following the other two inside of the other room, where everyone was dining on breakfast.

Upon arrival, Kai and Rei took their seats and began to eat quietly while the others continued their idle chit-chat with the employees. Rei looked around, this being his first time out of the bedroom, while conscious, that is. The whole place had an old feeling to it, like the house had been standing for centuries after centuries. Dark reds, browns, and golds accented the house while everything was kept rather tidy. A few places did have dust, and down the hall from their room had a strange door, covered in dark red blotches. Rei didn't even bother questioning what that was all about.

"Did you sleep well, Rei?" Rei looked down to see Max smiling at him, Hilary doing the same. He blushed, knowing he was staring into space.

"Yes..." he said quietly, then returned to his plate. Kai watched Rei do this, then turned to the employees. He still had questions for them...

* * *

"Mr. Hiwatari, could I have a word with you?" Kai stopped in his tracks as the others followed Evelyn on a tour of the rest of the house. Kai's eyes darted to the side as Miss Mary walked up from behind him. 

"What about?" he asked, turning toward her. Miss Mary lips curled into a knowing smirk. At this time, Rei turned, feeling his back go cold. He saw Miss Mary walking up to Kai with a smirk, placing a hand on his shoulder. Rei stepped forward, but was dragged back as Max and Tyson grabbed his arms.

"Wait, what are you- Kai," Rei called, but was suddenly dragged into the next room, and the doors were closed.

"You wanted to know about what exactly is going on, right?" Miss Mary probed, walking around Kai, her hand trailing behind her across his chest. Kai's eyes narrowed as he watched her finish her antics then walk to the center of the room.

"I do..." he said, turning toward her. Miss Mary turned toward him as well.

"Well, then I'll tell you... This mansion was built centuries ago by a young girl after her family was killed by pirates. She lived here all alone, until one day... as fate would have it, she died..." Kai listened to her tale as she admired her surroundings.

"And..." he urged. Miss Mary gave a lonely smile.

"She died and there was no one to take care of her house. It was abandoned, but there was one who came soon after and attempted to make her house a tourist attraction. But you see... it turns out, he died soon after. His employees found his dead body hanging in this very room," she pointed upwards to the chandelier as Kai glanced up.

"What's the story for?" Kai asked, wanting her to get to the point. Miss Mary sensed his anxiety.

"People say that to this very day... the owner of this mansion... still lives here..." she said, slowly turning to look at him. Kai stared at her, his eyes widening.

"Still...? How is that possible?" he asked. Miss Mary's face held an empty feeling as she stared at him.

"She walks these very halls... There's a reason why we haven't had guests in a while... I'll tell you, if you want to know... exactly what's going to happen... to you and your friends..." Kai's eyes widened more as he spun on his heel, looking at the closed door his friends had walked through. His breathing grew quicker as did his heart beat as he looked on at the door with a horrified expression.

"Rei..."

* * *

"Wow, this place is huge!" Tyson exclaimed as they made their way down the hallway. 

"This way leads to the ballroom. Back in the day it was used for lavish parties that various aristocrats attended from many different countries. It's closed now, though..." Evelyn explained. Kenny looked up at this.

"Why is it closed?" Evelyn looked back at him.

"Reconstruction..." she said in a low tone. Kenny gulped quietly, sensing that there may be more to the story. Behind him followed Rei, then Tyson and Hilary, and taking up the rear was Max. Max continued to look down at the ground, still pondering over Mrs. Romanoff.

_'I swear, I've seen her somewhere before...'_ he thought, frowning. He stopped suddenly, as his shoelace fell to the side of his shoe. "Darn shoelaces..." Max cursed, leaning down to tie it. The others, however, did not stop and continued their way down the hall.

"Here we are, ladies and gentlemen; the grand ballroom." Evelyn opened very large double doors and soon they were standing on a balcony overlooking a very large room.

"Wow!" Hilary breathed, then grabbed Tyson's arm and dragged him down the stairs to their right. "Come on, Tyson, let's dance!"

"Dance! What are you- Wah!" Hilary giggled happily dragging Tyson down one way, while Evelyn turned the other way to the set of stairs on the left, Rei and Kenny following. Rei looked around at the old, dust covered ballroom with uneasiness. The curtains were tattered and the large rug down the middle was shambled. Many windows were cracked and a slight breeze blew in from them. Not to mention the large family portrait overlooking the whole area...

"Where's Max?" Rei turned to Kenny whom was fixing his glasses atop his head, peering around. Rei turned to Tyson and Hilary. Hilary was making Tyson dance with her, in which Tyson didn't seem to like very much, though he wasn't complaining verbally. Hilary on the other hand seemed to be having the time of her life.

"I don't know," Rei said, turning to Evelyn. "But maybe she-"

"I don't know where your friend went. Maybe, he should stay closer to the group next time. Don't panic, though, I'm sure George or even Mr. Maple will find him. Relax and enjoy the tour," she said, walking toward the opposite end of the room. Kenny followed close behind but Rei stayed put. Something didn't feel right about this room... But there was nothing he could do, so after a while he followed as well.

* * *

Max stood and sighed. He opened his eyes and raised his brow. There was no one in front of him. 

"Tyson? Hilary? Rei, Chief? Where did everybody go?" Max took a step forward just as a rumble sounded behind him. He snapped around, looking down the empty hall way. There was nothing there. Max gulped slightly turning forward.

_'Get a hold of yourself, Max,'_ he thought, shaking his head. Then, with a nod, he trekked forward, but it wasn't long until the rumble sounded again. Max stopped, but didn't turn around this time. His shoulders shook slightly with fright, but he paid no mind and began to walk forward again. Max slowly passed a door to his right and continued along his way. A set of large double doors were ahead. Perhaps the gang went through them?

Suddenly a slam resounded behind him, making him turn around quickly. He looked around and once again, found nothing.

"That sounded an awful lot like..." Max turned his head to the door now on his left, watching with terror as it clicked open. "... A door..." he finished gulping in the process. He watched as the door slowly opened until it was wide enough for someone to fit through. He found his feet unconsciously making their way toward the open door, though his heart was beating so fast his legs started cramping. Max made it to the door after an excruciatingly long while and slowly peeked in. It was an old room with a fireplace and covered furniture. He let out a breath, smiling a bit.

_'I really need to calm down...'_ he mentally scolded. He leaned back to leave, but something he didn't even expect occurred. Two hands were placed firmly against his back, making him halt, his body going cold. Within seconds he was pushed in and the door was closed. Max bolted up and ran towards the door, grabbing the knob. After a second or two of struggling he gave up. It was locked.

"What's going on here?" he asked, backing up. He heard a shuffle come from his side and turned to one of the furniture pieces covered in the white cloth. He eyed it suspiciously. The rocking chair was what caught his attention. Under the cloth, it looked like something had stationed itself. Max moved toward the chair shaking as it rocked slowly back and forth, due to the wind coming in from the cracked window. He took step after step, slowly and carefully, but stopped as one particular gust blew the sheet a bit more than the rest, making the chair rock further back. Max stopped completely as the rocking chair slowly teetered back and a hand slid out from under it. Max paled considerably as he watched the hand, bare of its skin and meat, hang from under the cloth.

His eyes were wide and his shoulders shook even more as he backed up toward the window. The bone hanging from the rocking chair twitched suddenly making Max's hair stand on end. He could hardly breathe as he watched with unmatched horror. The rocking chair stopped and the cloth slowly rose until it stood a good foot taller than Max himself.

Max backed up further as the wind blew behind him from the window toward the creature in front of him. He gasped, covering his gaped mouth as the cloth hugged the creature's being, revealing a skull and nothing but bones underneath. A sickening cracking noise echoed throughout the room as the skeleton inched toward him. Max's back soon came in contact with the windowsill behind him. He looked behind him, seeing a good drop. He was unfortunately on the second floor...

Max turned back around, silencing as the creature looked down at him, from right in front of him. Time seemed to stop as Max stared back at the emptiness behind the cloth. Then, the skeleton's hand rose and Max's eyes dilated.

Outside the house one of the second story windows broke, glass shattering everywhere, and down went a body, hitting a bunch of crates below. Max lay on the broken crates, his eyes closed and a bleeding cut across the bridge of his nose. Above, in the window, the curtains blew slightly, and within seconds the creature disappeared from the vision the window allowed.

"I... can't die here..." Max whispered, feeling his body grow soothingly warm. He relaxed as his eyes opened a little. "Someone... find me..." he whispered again. Tears leaked from his eyes as a drip of blood trailed down his cheek. "Someone..."

* * *

Hilary looked up suddenly, her face showing slight confusion. Tyson stopped just before walking through the door with the others seeing Hilary turn around. 

"What's up?" he asked. Hilary continued looking around as if looking for something.

"I thought I just heard... someone..." she said. Tyson watched the others walk away down the hall and his anxiousness grew.

"Okay, well come on, Hilary. Everybody's leaving," he said and turned around to see Hilary running back toward the stairs. "Hilary, what are you doing!" he yelled, running behind her.

"Something's wrong!" she said, looking frantic. Tyson wasn't so sure of what the problem was, but he followed anyways, in an attempt to stop her.

"Hilary, wait!" he said, grabbing her wrist. She continued to struggle, but he managed to wrap his arms around her waist from behind.

"Tyson, let me go!"

"Hold on, we can't get lost in here! Do you know how hard it'll be to find our way out? Something funny is going on here and I'm not about to-"

"Tyson, look," Tyson quieted as he looked over Hilary's shoulder to the large painting above the doors they'd entered earlier. The painting seemed normal enough; a portrait of a wealthy looking family, but something was wrong with one of the young girls in the picture. Her face was void of anything; eyes, mouth, nose. Her face was completely empty. "I could've sworn she had a face last time I saw that painting... Which was, like... five seconds ago...?" Tyson paled and backed away, pulling Hilary along with him as he went.

"I think we'd better catch up with the others." He turned quickly, taking Hilary's hand in his own, but stopped, Hilary bumping into his back.

"What now...?" she asked, rubbing her head. She looked down, then, feeling Tyson's hand gripping onto hers in a death lock, and he was very still. "Tyson?" she asked, and slowly looked past his shoulder. She instantly regretted doing so...

The door closed slowly and a small click could be heard signaling that it had locked itself. A small white hand positioned itself on the handle and attached to that was a young girl, her back facing the two. Hilary and Tyson watched as the young girl turned around, and to their horror, she had no face.

"Oh... my..." Hilary placed a hand over her mouth as the two backed up. The young girl began taking jerky steps toward the two as if one of her legs were made of wood. A sick cracking noise came from behind, making the startled two spin around to see the bodies of the people in the painting slowly fall out of the portrait picture. Once they hit the ground, the lifeless corpses began to pick themselves up. Hilary grabbed onto Tyson's arm, shaking wildly at the terrible scene in front of her, losing her mind with every advance of the beings. It was Tyson who brought her back.

"Come on!" he said, pulling her across the room, away from the girl and her 'family'.

"Where are we going!" Hilary yelled, looking back to see the people fall down the stairs in a clumsy manner. Tyson didn't answer, instead he kept running straight, until he saw a door to his right. He turned, pulling her with him, and they both made it to the door. Once on the other side, Tyson released Hilary and pulled random furniture pieces from the hallway and placed them in front of the door. He back up once he was sure there was enough and waited. Soon enough there was a slapping sound on the other side. It continued for a few seconds, but eventually died down, and Tyson could hear the 'creatures' walk away. He let out a heavy relieved sigh, then turned to Hilary. She was sitting on the floor staring straight ahead, looking absolutely terrified.

"Hilary?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her. She didn't move. Tyson waved a hand in front of her face, but she gave no reaction. He felt his pulse beat a few paces faster. He gently nudged her shoulder, but she continued to stare ahead, looking lifeless. Tyson breathed and raised his hands, placing them on either side of Hilary's face. Hilary's eyes twitched, which was a good sign. He moved closer, stopping just before her face making her breathe. "Hilary, look at me..." he said calmly. Hilary closed her eyes for a moment before opening them and looking into Tyson's eyes.

"They're still...?" she began, feeling her eyes well up with tears. Tyson shook his head, pressing his forehead against hers.

"They're gone, and they're not getting in here, okay?" he said, giving her a soft smile. Hilary stared at him for a moment before nodding. Tyson nodded back then stood, offering his hand to her. Hilary looked to the blocked off path behind them, then the hallway in front of them. She peered up at Tyson as she placed her hand in his and he pulled her up.

"S-so where do we go from here?" she asked, wrapping her arm around his bicep. Tyson shrugged, fixing his loosened cap.

"Forward, I guess..." he said, and they began walking forward down the lightless hallway...

* * *

TBC...


	4. Lost And Alone

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 4: Lost And Alone

* * *

"And that ends our tour of the house." Rei and Kenny stopped as they walked back into the dining hall, confused expressions on their faces. 

"Wait, what about the others?" Kenny asked. Evelyn halted and turned around, giving them a blank face.

"What about the others?" she asked back.

"Where are they?" Rei asked, growling slightly as he stepped in front of Kenny. Evelyn continued to stare at them blankly. "Well!" Rei enforced, taking another daring step forward.

"They're-"

"They're taking care of some business," came another voice, Rei and Kenny came to recognize as... Miss Mary. She sat at the head of the dining table, a glass of dark red wine in her left hand. Kenny stepped forward.

"What kind of business, and why aren't we involved?" he asked. Mary stood up then, taking the glass with her.

"Because-"

"Where's Kai?" Miss Mary turned to Rei with a smile when she heard him speak.

"Kai? He's looking for you..." she said, taking a tiny sip of her wine.

"What exactly is going on here!" Kenny yelled, feeling very frightened. Miss Mary walked down the distance of the elongated table, then stopped in front of them.

"Well, gents... to be perfectly frank, the game has begun, and a decade of waiting has come to an end. My soul is going brittle and I need a little life in my... life, if you will. You see, the truth is..." Rei and Kenny looked up as Mrs. Romanoff walked through the kitchen doors into the room, and following her through another door was Mr. Maple. Last to enter the room, through yet another door was George. Rei and Kenny diverted their attention once again to Miss Mary as they heard a splashing sound coming from her direction. They watched as she drank the rest of the wine and a puddle of dark red liquid formed beneath her feet.

"What's this?" Kenny asked, his voice cracking. Miss Mary finished her wine within seconds then dropped the glass. She turned to them, licking her dry lips.

"We're dead..." she said. Rei froze, his head spinning slightly.

"WAIT!" Rei gasped, turning around to meet with George's large physique. Behind him, Rei watched Evelyn effortlessly drag Kenny out of the room. "REI!" he screamed before he was out of sight.

"Wait, don't leave!" Rei yelled back, then felt a cut off in circulation around his throat. George lifted Rei off the ground, holding the neko-jin by his neck. Miss Mary walked up from behind, placing her hands on her hips.

"Do you want to know where Kai is?" she asked, quietly. Rei struggled to look at her, one golden eye opening.

"Tell me..." he gasped out, trying to keep himself from being strangled by gripping his hands as much around George's wrist as possible. Miss Mary turned around to look at the double doors leading into the front room.

"He's on his way, kiddo..." she whispered. "Quickly, George, bring him into the kitchen. We'll be having cat for dinner..." she said menacingly. Rei continued to struggle as George's bulky arm carried him across the room.

_'I'm not going anywhere...'_ Rei thought. He opened his eyes, his vision getting blurry. He looked up at George's stoic face and growled low in his throat before swinging his lower body to one side, making George stop. Miss Mary stopped as well, turning around with a dangerous smirk. Rei swung one last time, back, before pushing himself forward, his shoes making contact with George's stomach. George fell to his knees, the wind knocked out of him, but Rei was still trapped. He continued to struggle more than ever, though, not giving up.

"Think about what you're doing, Rei. You could either die alone, or in the company of people you know," she said. Rei yelled as he finally broke free of George's grasp. He limped away, coughing and breathing harshly, then pulled himself up and darted out of the room into the front desk area.

"Wait..." George slurred as he stood on his feet. Miss Mary held up a hand, preventing the oversized butler from going anywhere.

"Don't... Let's let things get interesting. After all, they've only seen the living parts of the hotel..."

* * *

Rei raced through the halls, making his way to the bedroom Kai and he had shared earlier. Everything was exactly the same; their bags and everything. Rei looked up as he heard a scream and ran to the window. He looked out suddenly seeing Kenny running into the foggy forest. 

"Kenny!" he yelled, and was about to leave when his eyes caught several upright black dogs chasing after him. The dogs looked a bit deformed, their spines practically visible through their almost furless backs. Rei backed up from the window, gulping as he made his way back down the hall.

_'What is this place?'_ he thought, racing down the stairs.

* * *

Kai pushed open a large wooden door and peered around the corner. The room had nothing in it. Just a rocking chair with something on it, a few cloth clad pieces of furniture and a fireplace. Not to mention a broken window. Kai sighed, anxiety taking over. He was about to leave, when a piece of blue cloth caught his eye. He walked into the room and over to the window, gently taking the cloth from the sharp window piece; a small torn blue cloth, with a small red blotch. Most likely blood... 

Kai carefully leaned out the window, seeing a bunch of broken crates, and in the middle of them, was a body. Kai's eyes widened as he recognized the body; it was Max.

"Good Lord," Kai growled, then froze when he saw movement reflected in the window glass. In one swift movement he launched out his foot in a high kick, his shoe coming in contact with something hard. He turned around to see a skull fly across the room and a skeleton hit the floor. "Oh, crap..." Kai murmured.

He looked back out the window seeing Max's still body and fearing the worse. He was about to turn around when he heard the crates below creak slightly. Kai's eyes widened with hope as Max's arm moved a small inches worth. It wasn't much, but it sure was enough. Kai turned around making sure there was no more surprises. The skeleton wasn't moving, so he guessed it was okay. He walked over to the skull, taking the sheet away from it.

"I'll be needing this more than you," he said, nodding to the skull before tying one corner to the window pane and throwing the rest out the window. He slowly made his way down and got closer and closer to Max, feeling more and more relieved when Max moved a little. He was almost there when the sheets suddenly shook. Kai closed his eyes for a moment before daringly looking upward. He met with the skull looking right at him, and the skeleton's boney hand on the sheet's knot. Kai shook his head slowly, and began making his way down quicker.

"Orders are: no one survives..." came a grated rusty voice as the skull moved its jawbone. Kai quickened his pace, but the skeleton was already there to mess it up and with one tug, the sheets knot came undone and Kai fell the rest of the way. He braced himself for a tremendous fall, but gasped when he hit the ground immediately. He sat up, pushing the sheets off of himself and looked up. The skeleton growled in rage at his failure and quickly disappeared from sight. Kai sighed with relief, then turned around and pushed the crate pieces aside to get to Max.

"Max, are you... alive?" he asked. Sure enough, Max's eye opened a little and his blue orbs moved to look at Kai's face.

"Kai... you came," he whispered, his cut lips curling into a weak smile.

"Yeah... Are you alright?" he asked, pushing wood off of Max's legs.

"It's hard to move..." Max said truthfully, closing his eyes again.

"I know, so don't move. Just hold on..." Kai's voice trailed off as he looked around, stopping when he spied a large wheel barrel. "It'll have to do," he sighed, and in no time, picked Max up carefully and placed him down in the upright wheel barrel. Kai managed to look over Max's wounds assessing that the damage was mostly done to Max's back, and the wooden crates gave him further scratches and such.

"I'm not going to die, am I?" Max asked, bringing Kai's attention to his face by grabbing his shirt. Kai looked him in the eye with a stern look.

"No, you're not. Just rest for now, until I... can think of something... We still need to find the others..." Kai trailed off again, looking at the old house. One person was still on his mind...

* * *

Kenny raced through the trees, blind as a the fog was so overpowering. He huffed with each step, turning around for a second to see three large beasts behind him. 

"What are those things!" he shrieked, and continued running. The beasts were right on his tail, gaining speed as Kenny lost it. Kenny jumped over small tree roots and dodged past branches but a rock caught him off guard as he tumbled a few yards further, coming to a complete stop near the water's edge. He picked himself up, dread coming over him when he saw that he had met the end of his road. He turned around seeing the creatures still getting closer. One beast leapt through the branches and rushed right at the scared boy and he could only turn around and cover his head in fright.

Kenny shook as he heard the beast yelp in pain and the other two rush up. He chanced a look and gaped as the three dogs began fighting with each other. Kenny scrambled away as one of the dogs fell down right where he was sitting. He quickly crawled away, glancing over his shoulder once and gasping when one of the dogs leapt toward him.

"Somebody, help me!" he yelled, covering his head. He jumped when a sudden sound of gunfire crashed through his ears. He waited as the gunfire continued for a while before looking up slightly. The gunfire stopped and as Kenny uncovered his head he gasped when one of the dogs crashed to the floor beside him, making him scramble to his feet and back up in a hurry.

"You alright there, lad?" Kenny snapped around meeting with a man holding a rather large gun in one hand. Kenny breathed, staring at the man with question, looking back at the three dead dogs.

"Am I okay...? Am I okay! I was just being chased by three monsters, I'm stuck on the stupid island and my friends are trapped in an old house with dead people! I... am NOT okay!" Kenny said, panting afterwards. The man waited patiently for Kenny to calm down, before nodding.

"I see. Well, come on then," he said.

"Wait, come on where?" Kenny asked, not budging. The man turned around.

"Back to my boat. We'll get some supplies then go rescue your friends." Kenny watched the man walk along the shoreline, and with the dead twitch of the beast behind him, decided to follow.

"Who exactly are you?" Kenny asked, watching as the fog dissipated a bit so as he could see a boat.

"Me? I'm a novelist. I write books and such on paranormal activity, and on one of my research projects I came across a mysterious island; home to the famous Old Apple Ridge Inn. It spiked my interest and I came down to see what this place was. I didn't expect to find a young boy being chased by werewolves..." the man said, throwing his gun on the deck of the boat. Kenny's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Is that what those things were?" he asked. The man shrugged. "Right and your name would be?" he continued. The man pulled back from the boat.

"Sorry, my name's Robert. Robert Newman." Kenny held out his hand, shaking it with Robert's.

"Kenny... Just Kenny..." The two shook hands then turned toward the forest.

"Well, that looks like fun," Robert said, smiling with excitement. Kenny slowly turned toward Robert with a accusing expression.

"You... don't even know..." Kenny droned, pulling himself on the boat to sit down for a bit. Robert pulled himself onto the boat as well and walked past Kenny. _'I just hope my friends are okay...'_ he thought to himself, resting his tired body.

* * *

A long dark hallway lit up for a moment as a door opened revealing two people; Tyson and Hilary. 

"Where are we now?" Hilary whispered, looking around as Tyson closed the door behind them.

"I don't know. I think we're in the same hallway we were in earlier, when we were on that tour thing." Hilary turned around meeting with Tyson's face. "I believe the front room is that way," Tyson said, pointing down the hall. He turned to Hilary for a second, seeing her sigh. "You alright?" he asked, smiling. Hilary looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah... I'm okay," she said. Tyson nodded then began his way forward. "Tyson?" He stopped, hearing Hilary's voice and turned around to see her fiddling with her fingers.

"Yeah, Hil?" he asked. Hilary looked up at him, smiling.

"I just wanted to say... Even though we got lost, I'm glad I got lost with you," she said. Tyson smiled at her, then walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"Same here," he replied and the two began walking down the hall. It was then when they both heard a sound coming from behind another door on the other side of the hall. They both stopped and turned around to see a skeleton standing in the middle of the hall, holding its skull.

"Oh, my..." Hilary whispered, then looked up as Tyson stood in front of her. "Tyson, what are you doing?" she asked, grabbing his arm. Tyson cast her a smile over his shoulder then turned to the skeleton.

"I have no idea..." he said, and with that, left her side, running up to the skeleton. The skull growled at him, looking fierce, but frowned when Tyson foot collided with it in a swift kick.

"Not again..." came the grating voice and soon the skeleton was on the floor.

"Tyson!" Tyson turned away from his short lived victory to see Hilary disappear behind the door the thing had came out of before.

"Hil, you can't just wander off like that," he scolded walking up to her. She was looking out a broken window. "What are you-"

"KAI!" Tyson gasped when he heard her yell and rushed to the window pane to look out. Sure enough, Kai was just below, with Max apparently sleeping in a wheel barrel.

"Kai, what happened!" Tyson yelled. Kai turned to Max briefly before looking back up at the two.

"You didn't happen to see a skeleton, did you!" he called back. Tyson and Hilary exchanged glances.

"Yes," Hilary said, nodding in conformation.

"Kai, what the hell is going on!" Tyson said, then clumsily caught a rock with the end of a sheet tied to it.

"I'll tell you when you get down here. It's not safe in that house anymore..." Tyson gulped and nodded and within minutes, the two joined Kai and Max outside.

* * *

"Four of them are gathered in the front; one is beyond the forest; and one is still trapped inside." Evelyn turned toward Miss Mary, her expressionless face still in place. 

"Alright... Well, we still have one guest within the house. We need the others out there inside as well. I don't care about the little one. Just get the four in the front, and let's have a party." Evelyn nodded and turned to walk out of the door.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" came Mrs. Romanoff's voice. Miss Mary sat back in a large velvet armchair in front of an equally large fireplace. She frowned at the fire seeing images of young girls and boys screaming for mercy. She quickly tossed a stray log in the fire, the images quickly vanishing with yells of torture.

"Kill the boy still within the mansion... We don't need him..." Mrs. Romanoff bowed slightly, then began to walk away, when she remembered something.

"Um... Miss Mary?"

"What now?" Mary asked, annoyed.

"Well... what about the keys?" Miss Mary raised an eyebrow for a moment, then stood.

"Well? What about them? It's not like they can help them now... Now do as I said and kill the boy!" she screamed, the fire in the fireplace flickering wildly. Mrs. Romanoff frowned and left obediently. Miss Mary could only sit back down as she waited for them to bring her Rei on a silver platter...

* * *

Bright golden eyes peered around the corner down a dark hall looking for any signs of movement. Rei emerged from the bend and quickly made his way down the hall. 

"Where is everybody?" he asked himself, looking from side to side, then stopped as the ground beneath him began to shake. He faltered slightly then lifted his vision slowly seeing something in front of him. A tall mummy-like creature stood before him, breathing in deeply. Rei slowly took a step backward and watched as the mummy advanced. There was something about that face that was so familiar to Rei, but he couldn't place it.

"Let me show you... to your rooms..." he whispered, and that voice, Rei recognized.

"George... the butler...?" he said, his voice escaping him. The creature smiled slightly, the dead meat dangling from various bones. Two gruesome eyeballs spun once then locked onto Rei's retreating form.

"Let me show you... to your rooms..." Rei raced down the hall, whimpering as George continued to repeat the same thing over and over again. From the sound of it, he was getting closer.

"Leave me alone..." Rei said, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly his feet slowed until he came to a complete stop. George walked up to him and stopped before him, a confused expression on his face. A slight breeze blew Rei raven bangs into his eyes for a moment, then in a flash, Rei spun around and faced George with an angry expression.

"Let me show you... to your-" George's voice cut off just as Rei's foot landed in his face, making him fall to the ground with a heavy thud. Rei grimaced as he struggled; his foot was stuck in George's decaying face.

"For crying out loud!" he yelled, yanking his foot free. He took the moment to take a breath, but froze when he heard a low creaking sound. He looked to George's rotting body with a worried expression as a single crack spread from under the corpse. "Oh no..."

* * *

Kai stood to his feet, looking at the house with determination. 

"He's still trapped inside..." he said quietly. Tyson and Hilary stood behind him with solemn expressions. Slowly clouds began to gather over the house as a light drizzle began. Tyson sighed and turned to Hilary with a funny looking face.

"What it is?" she asked, giving him an odd look. Tyson took a deep breath and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Hilary, you should stay here with Max and look after him. Kai and I will go inside and get Rei back, then we'll leave this place, alright?" he asked. Hilary nodded.

"Just, why are you-" her sentence suddenly stopped and her eyes went wide as Tyson's lips descended upon hers in a chaste kiss. He soon pulled away, looking embarrassed and blushing madly. "Staring?" she squeaked, caught completely off guard.

"Just wanted you to know that I... really like you. I just wanted to tell you so you know... in case I-"

"Tyson Kinomiya," she said in a warning tone. Tyson looked up at her seeing a sweet smile in place. "What happened to that pride of yours, huh? I know you're too stubborn to let anything happen to you..." she said. Tyson blushed more as she gave him a sweet kiss. She smiled as they parted and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Go get'em, Champ..." Tyson gulped and nodded. Kai stood behind him with a raised eyebrow and an exasperated expression.

"Are you quite done?" he asked in annoyance. Tyson turned on his heel looking ready for anything, which annoyed Kai further.

"Yes, I am, Kai! Let's go forth!" he said making his way toward the front door. Suddenly the doors blew open and a low growl emitted from the darkened house. Kai stared for a while, then snapped out of it when he noticed that Tyson was gone.

"Where...?" he whispered, then turned finding Tyson right behind him, shaking like a leaf. Suddenly Tyson landed face first into the dirt with Kai standing above him looking very angered. "Do NOT do that again!" he yelled, then turned toward the house and began walking forward. Tyson stood up rubbing his head, then gulped and followed, rather reluctantly. He gave one last glance at Hilary and Max, smiling, before he stepped inside behind Kai and the mighty doors closed.

"I hope they'll be alright..." Hilary said, clasping her hand together as if in prayer.

"I hope so too..." Hilary gasped then, turning to Max, seeing his eyes opened slightly.

"Max, you're alright!" she said, kneeling beside the wheel barrel. Max's expression grew grim, making Hilary worry. "What's wrong...?" she asked. Max took an unsteady breath and licked his bloody bottom lip.

"I know who she is..." he said quietly.

"Who?" Hilary asked.

"Mrs. Romanoff..." Hilary's eyes widened a margin. "She's dead, Hilary. She died in a fire... at the Old... Apple Ridge Inn..." he whispered, coughing just slightly. Hilary placed a hand over her mouth in horror.

"What?" she asked, standing up.

"Old Apple Ridge Inn... had a fire in the late 1800's. They were reconstructing the building and there was a chef from Russia. Mrs. Gracie Romanoff. The kitchen caught fire while she was cooking the workers a meal and she got trapped inside. She died from serious burns... Hilary, I don't think anyone in that house... is even alive..." he whispered, turning to her.

"What makes you say that?" Hilary asked.

"I don't know... Just a feeling," he said, his blue orbs narrowing. "They'd better be careful..."

* * *

TBC...


	5. Spiritual Identity

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 5: Spiritual Identity

* * *

Rei watched the crack in the floor grow at a rapid pace and turned to get away, but something grabbed his leg, keeping him still. He looked back frowning when he saw George holding onto his ankle. He once again tried to get away, but with one quick tug, Rei fell to the ground, slamming hard. 

"Let me... show you..." George began again, making Rei glare at him. "To your... death..." he finished, and at this, Rei paled.

* * *

Max and Hilary both cast their worried gazes on the house, hearing a very loud creak and crashing noise. Dust came from almost every opening it offered. 

"What was that?" Hilary asked. A dreadful silence overcame the entire island as the crash subsided. Even Kenny and Robert in the woods stopped for a moment, trying to figure out what that was. They continued their way through more determined than ever to save their friends.

* * *

Kai held his arms in front of his face, shielding it from the cloud of dust that came from the ceiling. He slowly lowered his arms, as Tyson did the same behind him, and surveyed his surroundings. The dust was settling more and more, until he could see a figure standing on the pile of debris. It was Mrs. Romanoff; or what was left of her. Her skin looked burned and she was almost bald. She looked to her side, and Kai's eyes followed. 

A large mummy pulled itself from the wreckage, pulling something along with him. Kai squinted to see who it was, then gaped. The mummy shook access wood off of him and threw Rei's still body to his side, very near to Mrs. Romanoff.

"Finally you caught him. Miss Mary's getting very impatient. And it looks like we have more guests," she said, motioning toward Kai and Tyson with a very large butcher knife in her grasp. Tyson put up his fists ready to fight, then after a while looked up at Kai in question, wondering why he wasn't doing to same. He gave a concerned face seeing Kai stare at the three on the pile of ruins, looking fearful.

"Kai, what's wrong with-"

"Rei..." Tyson raised an eyebrow at Kai's voice, then turned to the others. Rei laid near Mrs. Romanoff, his eyes closed, his face pale, his skin bloody from the cut he'd gotten from falling. He was so lifeless it was almost scary. Tyson turned back to Kai, still with his questioning look. Suddenly Kai jerked, making Tyson look straight ahead. The mummy picked Rei up, holding the still boy in a bridal fashion, then turned around to walk away, Mrs. Romanoff in tow.

"Rei!" Tyson yelled, running up to them, then slowed seeing Kai race past him, sliding under George. Kai knocked George over and down he went, Rei falling on top on him. George quickly brought himself up again, pushing Rei off of him, and roared at Kai. Tyson gaped for a minute, before shaking his head and running up to Mrs. Romanoff. She turned, hearing his 'battle cry' and held up her knife. Tyson quickly stopped, and smiled innocently at her before running the opposite way, screaming like a little girl as she chased him.

"Kai!" he screamed, rushing around the room. Kai held up his hands in battle stance in front of George as he advanced.

"You will die..." he slurred and ran up to Kai. Kai braced himself, then when he was close enough, he punched George's stomach. Kai gasped as his fist went right through the meat and bones.

"Oh, come on!" he said, putting his foot on the mummy to try to pull his arm out. George grabbed Kai's shoulders with a wicked smile, making Kai look up at him.

"You will-"

"Oh, shut up!" Kai yelled, yanking his arm out. He then spun around, his leg ramming hard against George's side. George plummeted to the ground, pieces of wood getting stuck in his exposed flesh. He waited to see if George would move again, but it looked as though George was down for now. His heart sank suddenly, bringing his attention to the still neko-jin to his side. He quickly stumbled down the debris and made it to Rei's side, kneeling beside him.

"Take that!" came Tyson's voice and a thud was heard. "Yeah! For someone who makes such good food, you are a really bad lady..." he said, tossing a blunt piece of wood on Mrs. Romanoff's unconscious body. He turned to the side and became quiet as he watched Kai carefully lift Rei's head off the ground. Kai pushed aside a few stray locks out of Rei's face, his fingers coming in contact with trace amounts of blood.

"Rei...?" he questioned, hoping he would answer. He waited patiently, his heart sinking further and further with each second. He swallowed harshly, his throat becoming suddenly dry. Rei still hadn't moved and his skin grew colder and colder. "Don't die..." Kai whispered, leaning down, placing his forehead against Rei's. "Please don't die..."

Tyson's heart sank watching Kai crumble, but what caught him the most was the affection he was showing Rei. When had this happened? Suddenly a stir made Tyson look up.

Kai lifted his head looking at Rei's face with a frown in place. He slowly looked up seeing Miss Mary standing a distance away from him. Her face was twisted with rage, her green eyes blazing. Kai pulled Rei to his chest, glaring hard at her and frowned harder when she glared right back at him.

"Don't bother trying to bring him back..." she said, making Tyson gasp. He turned to Kai seeing the boy tremble with hatred.

"You bitch!" he yelled with malice. Miss Mary didn't smile or smirk. Instead she raised her hand and held it out, palm up. A small blue orb appeared, hovering above it and it grew as a small creature formed inside. Tyson was the closest, so he was able to make out what it was that was inside of it. A small black and white cat was curled up in a ball, tightly packed within the orb. Its eyes peeked open slightly revealing two bright golden eyes. Tyson backed up a bit, turning to Kai.

"Is that-"

"Yes... It's Rei's spirit, and it belongs to me now..." Kai looked back at Rei's body. He was still not moving and very cold now. Kai gently placed Rei down on the floor and pulled himself to his feet. He turned to Miss Mary.

"No, it doesn't..." he growled. Miss Mary finally smiled.

"And what are you going to do about it?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Not me..." Kai said. "Him." Miss Mary gave him a questioning look before she was tackled to the ground by Tyson, Rei's spirit flying into the air. Kai watched as the orb shattered when it hit the ground and a cat lay where it met with the ground. Tyson and Mary wrestled around, each having their turn to hit or punch, until Tyson pushed her on the bottom. She struggled for a minute, making Tyson laugh. It was when she turned into a bloody mess out of nowhere that Tyson started screaming for help.

"Oh my gawd, she's a freaking Bloody Mary!" he screeched leaping away toward Kai. Mary rose to her feet and faced the two.

"That's it..." she growled. Kai gently picked up the black and white feline and held it close to him, making his way back to Rei's cold body.

"Tyson, hold the cat!" he ordered, pushing the cat into Tyson's arms. Tyson watched Kai pick up Rei's body and start running toward the exit. Tyson turned briefly, yelping when Mary started dashing toward him. He and Kai raced toward the exit, Kai kicking open the door, and jumped out. They landed on the porch and looked back seeing Mary still rushing toward them. Suddenly she stopped, and started hollering in pain, then vanished as the doors slammed shut.

Kai and Tyson remained quiet for a moment, before sighing in relief and falling backward, resting for a while.

"She can't get out of the house..." Kai murmured. Tyson smiled at this.

"Oh yay..." he cheered, though rather dully, since he was tired.

"Tyson! Kai!" Tyson smiled and sat up, Hilary suddenly throwing herself at him and hugging him tightly. "You're alright!" she said into his chest. Kai looked back at the still neko-jin beside him with sadness, but a simple voice caught everyone's attention.

"What... is this...?" Everyone turned around to see the black and white cat staring at his paws in pure confusion.

"Rei, is that... you?" Tyson asked. The cat looked up seeing everyone staring at him. Then he saw Kai.

"Kai!" he said and flung his little cat body toward Kai, pressing his tiny paws on his chest. "What's going on!" he cried, his ears falling back on his furry head. Kai had no answers for him, and could only stand, holding the cat so he didn't fall.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said, walking away.

"But what about Rei's body?" Tyson asked. Kai turned to the said body with mirth.

"Bring him. We'll figure out what to do later..." Tyson nodded and went to do his task of getting Rei. He was surprised at the fact that Rei's body was bendable, since a dead body usually stiffens. Nonetheless, everyone made their way back to Max, and was greeted with Kenny and another person; Robert. They safely made it to the boat and rested for a tough time ahead.

* * *

Kai let out a calm breath as he lay back on a hammock, resting his eyes. It had been only a few hours since they pushed the boat out to sea. They still stayed near the island, of course, just not too near so as something could jump on... 

Kai was finally able to rest a bit easier, but he was constantly awakened with nightmares. Though, who could blame him, since he just escaped a haunted mansion? He opened one eye for a moment, looking utterly tired, then looked down, feeling a weight on his chest. He opened the other eye as well when he saw the small black and white cat; Rei's spirit. Kai remained silent watching the cat paw at his chest, then eye him with those huge golden orbs. He watched as Rei sat down beside him, putting his head on Kai's chest, as if trying to sleep. Kai raised his hand and gently pet his head, scratching behind his ear occasionally.

"I can't sleep..." Rei whispered, purring contently, though he looked like he'd just been hit by a car. Ironic, yeah?

"I know..." Kai whispered back, then dropped his hand to the side when Rei climbed onto Kai's chest, his four little paws prodding gently. He looked at Kai, his eyes showing sadness and Kai lifted his hand once again petting him softly.

"I don't want to be like this..." Rei said, holding back tears. "I don't want to be a little cat..." Kai nodded at this.

"Don't worry, Rei. I'll get you back into your real body," he vowed, holding Rei's head in his hands. Rei climbed closer to Kai's face and pressed his wet nose against Kai's own nose.

"There's something I want to say to you, Kai." Kai sat up, the cat falling onto his lap. Rei placed his forepaws on Kai's chest, looking into his eyes.

"What?" Kai asked. Rei gazed at him for a minute.

"I...," Rei sighed. He drew back to himself and shook his head, bowing. "Thank you... is all..." came the soft purr. Kai remained still for a moment, before pulling the cat close to him. Rei purred, nuzzling his furry head against Kai's neck.

"I'll save you..." Kai whispered, keeping the cat securely in his arms. The two stayed silent, basking in the others company. It was the only thing they could do.

* * *

Hilary sat beside Max's bed, gently dabbing a damp cloth on his forehead. He was bandaged in various places and was sleeping now, but at least they knew he was going to be okay. His back wasn't broken, but it was damaged so Max couldn't move and had to stay put on the bed. Just outside, within hearing range of the two, were Tyson, Kenny, and Robert. 

"So it really wasn't from Mr. Dickinson," Tyson said, bowing his head and fiddling with his hat. Kenny nodded in response.

"So, Mr. Newman, could you show us your findings?" he asked. Robert nodded and pulled an old looking leather portfolio out from under the chair he was sitting in.

"Here's everything on the house." Kenny fingered through the binder, pulling out old newspaper clipping and random papers.

"Obituaries...?" Tyson asked, taking a piece of paper. He read through them, then looked up at Robert. "These people are all missing?" Robert nodded. "Then why are they in the obituaries?"

"This town is so small, that if they don't find someone after a certain point in time, they're pronounced dead to the community. Basically, they were heading to this Inn for a vacation and never returned."

"So what's the deal on all the dead people?" Tyson asked.

"'Miss Mary Twinsburg dies of pneumonia and leaves her house empty handed. With no living relatives the house now belongs to the town.' Miss Mary died some three hundred years ago, and apparently she still runs the house." Kenny said, tossing the book on the table.

"Here's a clip on Mrs. Romanoff, just like Maxy told us," Tyson said, handing Kenny the newspaper clip.

"So..." Tyson, Kenny, and Robert turned around to see Hilary standing in the doorway. "How do we help Rei?" she asked. They remained silent.

"For now I suggest that we go back to the town, rest up there, gather our data, then come back and see what we can do from there," suggested Robert.

"So we're just going to leave like that?" Robert nodded.

"Unless you want to stay-"  
"What are you waiting for! Get up there and start taking us to town!" Tyson, Hilary, and Kenny chorused. Robert nodded and headed toward the steering room. He decided not to worry the others of the paranormal activity also in the town itself. Maybe later...

* * *

TBC...


	6. I Belong To Kai

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 6: I Belong To Kai

* * *

Hilary stood on the balcony of the small two story Inn located in the northern part of Devin's Creek. As far away as they could possibly get from the creepy old Apple Ridge place at the moment. They wanted to get farther, but Robert had some unfinished business there, as well as the gang. Rei was in two places at once, literally. His still, lifeless body lay in his and Kai's room, while his spirit in the form of a small black and white cat wondered around, though stuck close to the group. 

Hilary released a small sigh. She'd been the one to take care of Rei while everyone was trying to gather their thoughts. Of course, Rei's cat self was left to Kai when it was time for sleep. She smiled sadly at the image of Rei lapping up a saucer of milk on the coffee table, or the image of Rei laying across Max's lap growling at a small string end Tyson held up to annoy him. Rei fit being a cat rather well, but everyone knew it was painful for the little feline to wake up for the past couple days and whimper with fright as he was still a cat. Hilary had been one of the unfortunate ones to have to console him while he calmed down from one of those fits. She let out another sigh and leaned against the railing.

"Hilary?" Hilary looked up and smiled at the little cat that walked out onto the balcony. He sat by her foot as she kneeled beside him.

"What's up, Rei?" she said cheerfully. Rei frowned, his whiskers twitching in concern.

"Is everything okay?" he asked. Hilary remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Of course, what makes you-"

"You don't have to hide it..." Hilary blinked in surprise as Rei placed a small paw on her knee. She released yet another sigh and pet his furry head.

"I'm so sorry, Rei..." Rei shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. Just keep smiling, okay? I'm sure... Tyson would like that as well..." Hilary blushed and stood, eyeing the cat with embarrassment.

"What do you mean by-"

"Don't try to hide it, Hilary. I can see it in your eyes," he interrupted, then turned toward the door. "Now, if you don't mind, can you get me something to eat? I tried myself, but the fridge is just... too big..." Hilary nodded, pushing aside her previous embarrassment and leaned down to pick Rei up.

"By the way, Tyson confessed first," she said suddenly.

"No..." Rei replied with a small meow. Hilary nodded with pride as the two made their way toward the downstairs kitchen.

* * *

Kai's eyes scanned over the small pile of papers scattered across the small desk in his room. So far the group knew the history of the house and its many residents that have died there, but still, very little was known on what Miss Mary was up to exactly. She seemed to be after souls for some reason, and Robert did add that there was an unexplored portion of the house, which was located behind a set of five doors. This made him think of the set of keys they'd received in the mail. Though, there were six keys, so that would leave an extra... 

"Mreow..." Kai looked to his side to see Rei standing in front of the door, still, in his cat form. Kai watched him a moment as the cat remained silent, its tail twitching back and forth. Rei's cat presence seemed to mock Kai's efforts to save him. He turned to the still, cold body on the bed and frowned. "Hilary's cooking is getting much better," Rei said suddenly, licking his lips with a raspy tongue.

"How did you get in here?" Kai asked, completely off subject. Rei glanced back at the door and frowned.

"I walked through it..." Kai turned to the cat with a surprised expression.

"You... walked through it?" he asked, trying to make sure he heard right. The little cat nodded, scampering up to the desk Kai was working at. Kai placed his elbows on the desk and placed his face in his palms, feeling a headache coming on.

"It's funny though..." Kai looked up at the sound of the soft voice. "I can walk through walls and see all these weird things, but still have an appetite and when I fall off of things it still hurts." Rei glanced back at his rear, where he'd landed when he fell over trying to get something to eat. He silently cursed the people who ran the place. They were kind enough to let Rei reside in the house, but the employees were not as nice. If they weren't getting paid, Rei would probably be chased day and night. They'd catch him and boil him in their stew and serve him to the mean people whom stayed here...

Kai watched Rei's face shiver with fear, then happiness, then fear again, and over again with a small smile. He raised one hand up to pull Rei's body to him. He gently picked Rei up with both hands and studied the cat. Rei's large golden eyes stared right back and his fuzzy ear leaned back.

"I think we should get you a collar..." Kai mused. Rei suddenly gasped and squirmed.

"Wh-why! It's not like I leave the hotel or anything!" Rei reasoned giving Kai a toothy grin. Kai's brow knit in thought.

"Sooner or later the employees are going to use the excuse that you're a stray and kick you out. Besides..." Rei peeked up at Kai, blushing at the smirk planted on his face. "It'll look kind of cute..." Rei's tail involuntarily swung back and forth as he inwardly smiled. Kai gently placed Rei down on the desk as he stood and left toward the door. He paused as he opened it and looked back at Rei, catching the feline of guard. Rei gazed at Kai as he gazed back with a seriousness that made Rei's fur stand on end.

"Kai..."

"I will save you, Rei..." Kai said, his voice sincere. Rei could only gaze back, his eyes shining in remembrance to his current form. He lifted his fore paws and examined his self. He longed for a human body in which he could express how he felt... about Kai. He glanced up, a small mewling noise escaping his throat.

"I know you will..." Rei answered then jumped off the desk and leapt onto Kai's shoulder. Kai reached up scratching the neko's ear and exited the room.

* * *

Kai strode past the various shops lining the main street near the hotel, Rei comfortably positioned on his shoulder, his tail wagging lazily. A few children stopped their parents laughing up at the silly cat on the man's shoulder, making Kai smile at the feline looking absolutely stunned on his shoulder. 

"Mommy, look, a kitty!" cooed a small girl. Kai eyed the girl walking a short distance behind a woman, then up at the woman. She didn't seem to pay any attention to her child. Kai looked up hearing Rei make a mewling noise in his throat and frowned at the sorrowful look in the neko's eyes as, he too, eyed the little girl. Suddenly, the young girl fell over, slightly injuring her ankle. Kai stepped forward to help her but was stopped as Rei's small claws dug into his shoulder.

"Don't help her, Kai." Kai looked shocked as Rei turned away from the girl and jumped off of Kai's shoulder.

"Why not? Her mother obviously isn't helping any," Kai said, turning to the mother, shuffling down the street. Soon, the girl picked herself up and rushed after the woman, waving to Rei as she passed. "Rei, why did you-"

"She doesn't have flesh." Kai paused as Rei spoke. "She's an astral body. Her mother didn't stop because she didn't know. That child must've died sometime ago..." Kai bowed his head, his expression becoming angry.

"What is wrong with this town...?" Kai looked up to see Rei eyeing the people passing in and out of the pet shop. Even in his current state of a feline spirit he held an air of elegance and wisdom. Kai sighed silently and walked forward into the pet shop. Rei's ear perked up as Kai passed him and in a flash, he followed him inside.

* * *

"Well, I do think you made a wise decision, Kai. This collar accents my natural charm," Rei purred, puffing out his chest to show off his new white collar. It only seemed right to white, since Rei's fur was so dark it was hard to see any other color. A couple of silver name tags hung from the collar with Rei's name and some other information. Suddenly Rei looked more annoyed than anything as he pranced out into the pool area where the group was having some fun. 

"Hey, Kai!" came Tyson's voice as he pulled himself out onto the edge of the pool. "Hey, Rei." Rei strode up with Kai on his heels and sat next to the navy haired blader looking proud of himself.

"Hello, Tyson," Rei mewled looking around as if trying to make a point. Tyson looked confused for a second the smiled brightly.

"Hey, you've got a collar! How cute..." Rei paled suddenly.

"No..." he shuddered, realizing he just lost a good portion of his dignity. He bowed his head shamefully for a second until Tyson tilted his chin up to see the name tags.

"So... your name is Rei..." Rei growled slightly at Tyson's joke.

"That's not funny..."

"I'm sorry... Oh, and Kai is your owner-"

"WHAT!" Rei shrieked, trying desperately to see the tags, but was unable to do so. Not even the pool water gave him enough of a reflection. Rei glared up at Tyson making the blader sweat nervously. "You'd better not be lying!" he screamed in Tyson's ear.

"No, no, I'm not! I swear, it says that Kai's your owner!" Tyson's nerves eased a bit as Rei relaxed, looking into the pool water with a forlorn expression. "Hey, what's the problem? It's only temporary. You'll be human again, so don't worry about it." Rei's ears fell back as Tyson's wet hand pat his head.

"But, that's just it... What if... What if I never become human again...?" Tyson frowned and suddenly Rei felt himself lift into the air. Rei looked up to see Tyson holding him out in front of him with a soft smile.

"Don't say that, Rei. I promise you, you'll become human again. For now, you'll just have to trust us." Rei watched Tyson's face with an uncertain feeling. So far, just about everyone had promised him that he'd become human again and it was starting to sound easier said than done.

"hmm..."

"So don't be so depressed. Let's go swimming!" Rei suddenly fidgeted as Tyson slid back into the water, holding Rei close to his chest. The bottom portion of Rei's furry body bathed in the water and it felt pretty good. It was rather hot out, after all. Rei relaxed a little more as Tyson waded toward the others. Of course, Kai wasn't among them. He looked over Tyson's shoulder to see Kai, suddenly dressed in swim trunks, lounging on a nearby lawn chair. Kai opened his formerly closed eyes to send a smirk Rei's way, making the neko glare back. Though he was blushing a bit. The prospect of belonging to someone didn't please him too much, but it was a little different with Kai...

"Hey, Rei," came Max's voice and soon Rei was switched off into Max's arms instead. Rei could only let himself be carried and passed around, eyeing his friends from below. He observed his tiny black paw on Hilary's shoulder for a moment until Max took him back. He eyed the other white paw this time, his ears drooping. He'd never felt so helpless in all his life. He was reduced to relying on his friends to keep him safe and out of trouble. It was usually him doing that...

Suddenly, Rei felt strong hands lift him high into the air and looked down with a surprised expression into Kai's face. Rei relaxed his lithe body, feeling secure even though he was hovering over a deeper portion of the pool.

"You're not going to drop me are you?" Rei asked, sounding somewhat uncaring if Kai did drop him. Kai shook his head and brought Rei to his chest, gripping him protectively with one hand. Rei blushed even more, placing one tiny white paw on Kai's bare chest. He was careful, though, to keep his mind clear of any unneeded thoughts, lest he accidentally start something. Like a conversation on how they should get him neutered. Now that would be embarrassing.

"It's not like I had much of an option, Rei," Kai suddenly said. Rei looked up with a questioning face.

"What are you talking about?" Rei followed Kai's hand with his golden orbs until he lightly flicked at the tags on Rei's collar. "Oh... Well, you still should've said something..."

"I'm sorry." Rei looked up again. Kai leaned against the edge of the pool while the others splashed around nearby. "I though cats didn't like water," he said, smiling. Rei frowned.

"I am not a cat..." Kai looked down, caught off guard by Rei's defensive tone. Rei stared at his minor reflection in the water, catching Kai's soft gaze as well. He looked away. He didn't need to confuse himself with his feelings at the moment. The only on his mind, besides the cool water on his body, was the task of confronting the one person who knew more about his situation than anybody.

Robert Newman...

* * *

TBC...


	7. Return For Choice

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 7: Return For Choice

* * *

You would've said the sun fell into the sea like poetry in motion, but it was incredibly difficult to even see the sun through the thick fog surrounding the Old abandoned Apple Ridge Inn. Unfortunately, for your sanity that is, it wasn't exactly abandoned to say the least. So you've been told... 

"It's been a week now... Where are they!" A thick glass filled with wine smashed against the tall fireplace as the flames flickered with anguish. Mrs. Romanoff stood by with a distressed look upon her face.

"Miss Mary, I'm sure they'll come back. After all, the neko-boy's soul is currently separated from his body, so-" Mrs. Romanoff stopped suddenly as Miss Mary rose to her feet with an expression of remembrance.

"That's right... And his spirit was in the form of an animal, too..." Mrs. Romanoff looked confused.

"I don't believe we've ever encountered an animal spirit..."

"We haven't! And I'm sure his friends have something special about them as well..." Mary turned to her companion with an evil smirk, disfiguring her already bleeding face. "Do you know how powerful those spirits would make me..." Mrs. Romanoff suddenly smiled.

"You'd be able to keep your youth for beyond the capabilities of a hoard of humans... You wouldn't need to keep draining the town of its little ones." Miss Mary nodded.

"Not that I mind..." she said, turning back to the fireplace. A particular spirit caught her eye; the spirit of a young girl with pigtails. Miss Mary frowned, waving her hand toward the fire. Screams lit up the silent living room for a haunting moment, then relinquished. "Rei's spirit may be the only one I need... We'll see which ones have that rare animal spirit..."

* * *

Robert Newman released a tired sigh as he put his papers down looking pleased with himself. He leaned back, stretching his stiff back then reached forward to pick up a piece of paper, but a small white paw stopped him as it slammed the paper back down. He looked up to see a very angry cat on his desk. 

"How long is this going to take!" Rei yelled stepping forward. Robert looked absolutely stunned at Rei's aggression, but his surprise faded as he thought about it and understood. Rei was tired of being a cat, and that was painfully obvious.

"I don't know-"

"Don't lie to me, dammit! Tell me!" Robert remained indifferent as he pulled on the paper he was originally reaching for. He was unable to do so, though, as Rei scratched his hand. "Tell me!" Rei hissed, his nose cringed as he snarled. Robert frowned, feeling genuinely sorry for Rei.

"Rei, I may have the answer I was looking for-"

"Then let's go! I can become human again!" Rei hunched his hind legs to jump off the table but Robert's hand stopped him. Rei looked up with hopeful eyes making Robert's heart sink. "What's wrong...?"

"I wasn't finished." Rei felt his hope drain right down to his tail as he sat back on Robert's desk.

"Then... Your so-called answer..." Rei hissed through gritted fangs.

"I have one, but it's more like a hypothesis. It's experimental, but I think I'm pretty close."

"So... How close do you think you are...? Give me anything, I don't even care anymore..." Robert looked up with a silent gasp as a few tear drops fell to the papers on his desk. Rei bowed his head, his ears flopping over his eyes as tears continually fell.

"Rei..."

"I'm... so scared... I've never felt so scared in all my life... Not when I fell in the bayou, or when I was all by myself in that horrible hotel... Everyday I wake up and find this disgusting body... This disgusting body! I-I want to be my old self! I want to run on two legs and hold things with my fingers! I want..." Rei paused as the door to Robert's room opened up and revealed the crimson eyed captain that made Rei feel so vulnerable.

"Is everything okay?" came his soft voice. Robert turned back to Rei with a worried expression as the neko gazed at Kai, his tears refusing to stop.

"Kai..." Rei whispered, and in an instant bounded off the desk and straight into Kai's chest. Kai quickly raised his arms, catching the small whimpering cat, feeling his heart cringe with every sob that racked Rei's body. Kai looked up at Robert, catching the sorrowful look on the older man's face. He promptly fell back, collapsing into the chair behind him and wrapped his arm securely around Rei's trembling form.

"Robert..."

"I know..."

"We have to do something..." Kai murmured, trying to keep Rei still as he squirmed to get closer, as if to loose himself in the folds of Kai's shirt.

"I've read up and I believe I have the answer. Like I told Rei, there's a great possibility that it won't work, but I believe it's worth a try." Kai nodded, once again trying to keep Rei still.

"Go ahead. Explain..." he said quietly, nuzzling his nose in Rei's soft fur. This action seemed to calm the neko further.

"Well," Robert began, "I believe that there is a way to defeat this Mary person. The only problem is, it's located deep within the house and I'm not even sure where it is exactly."

"What is it?" Kai asked, gently stroking Rei's cheek with his thumb. Rei's sobs were gone now and were replaced with small sniffles and mews, but it looked as though he was falling asleep.

"It's a room."

"A room? A room is going to defeat a restless spirit...?" Kai sounded unbelieving.

"Yes. Within it are countless souls she's trapped over the centuries. It's my theory that if we release these souls her energy would weaken and we could destroy her by way of an exorcism. Reuniting Rei's spirit and body, though... may prove a little bit more difficult..." Kai gazed at Rei's sleeping form with regret.

"A little... more difficult..." he repeated, his eyes narrowing. "At this point, I don't care how difficult you think it may be. It isn't right to leave Rei like this for so long. Tomorrow, we go back... and we finish this once and for all..."

* * *

The night calmed the streets of Devin's Creek, escorting its various citizens back to their homes. Most of the city was asleep though a hazy fog that settled in seemed a little more alive than normal. It swooped through the town as if on the hunt for something important. Within the mist, a small trace of light shined as it passed a particular hotel on the outer limits of the town. The fog slowed upon arrival to the front doors. The light had apparently found what it was looking for. 

The breeze filtered through a second story window, blowing the curtains within and around. The fog rose substantially and slowly seeped through the open window carefully laying low to the ground. The bed, with its crisp white sheets, stood near the window, accompanied by another stationed near the door leading to the main hallway. Within the bed closest to the window, Hilary slept soundly, moving on occasion. She turned over once, facing the window, pulling the blankets down revealing her pink night gown fluttering around her knees. She remained asleep even as the fog surrounded the under layer of her mattress. Soon enough, the fog rose and a figure appeared at Hilary's bedside.

A young girl with pigtails and a scrape on her ankle stood over the sleeping girl with a blank face, void of any emotion. The young girl raised her arm and placed on finger on Hilary's forehead, making her glow with an eerie bluish light. Hilary's eyelids tightened for a moment before she opened them. Her orbs stood out in the darkened room glowing with their natural ruby color, though they were devoid of any shine and looked rather lifeless.

Hilary sat up in her bed, her head lolling sleepily forward. The young girl was no longer present in the room, nor was the ominous fog that once settled in. She stood up, her bare feet padding toward the balcony. Within moments, Hilary was standing on the railing of the balcony, the streets directly below. She swayed only slightly with the various movements of the wind, but otherwise kept perfectly balanced.

On the other bed, Kenny tossed and turned, then suddenly sprung forward gasping in fright. He raised a hand to his chest, breathing hard, his heart beating with equal strength. After a few calming breaths he turned to his side with a questioning glance. The fuzzy image of Hilary standing on the railing caught his eyes suddenly and within seconds of processing the situation, he screamed.

* * *

Tyson awoke with a start, though behind him, Max was much more sluggish. 

"Did you hear that?" he asked, sitting up.

"Yeah," Max replied while rubbing his eyes. "It sounded like Kenny, huh?" Max looked up to find Tyson racing out of the room looking rather distressed. A sat there a moment, then paled; suddenly awake enough to understand what had just happened.

* * *

"Kenny!" Tyson yelled as he thrust open the door. He froze immediately as a large gust of wind ricocheted against every wall, blowing up the sheets on the beds and the curtains by the window. Tyson glanced down catching Kenny with his hands over his head by the nearest bed. "Kenny, what's going on!" he yelled over the gusting wind. 

"I'm not sure! Suddenly this gust started up, but that's not the problem! Hilary's out on the balcony and she looks like she's about to jump!" Tyson snapped to the window with a deep expression of worry, and upon sight of Hilary hovering above her death, he rushed forward.

"Hilary, what are you doing!" He was cut off in his hurry to get to her by a sudden spark of lightning striking just in front of his bare feet. "Why?"

_"Which one of you boys have an animal spirit...?"_ came Hilary's echoed voice as she turned around on the railing. Tyson blinked in surprise to the strange voice not belonging t the Hilary he knew.

"Who are you!" he challenged. "Why are you doing this to Hilary!"

"Tyson!" Tyson turned to see Kai and Rei standing in the doorway, with Max behind them.

_"Nice to see you again, Rei..."_ Tyson turned back to Hilary with a sorrowful facade. Rei in turn took a step back, recognizing the haunting voice accompanying Hilary's own voice.

"It's her..." Rei whispered, his hind legs dragging him to Kai's leg, his tail tucked fearfully under him.

"What do you want!" Kai yelled over the wind, then suddenly, the wind dissipated. The door behind Max shook then and the blond turned around just as the door slammed shut, knocking him a distance into the room.

_"I want to know which one of you has the coveted animal spirit. I know Rei has one, as it is painfully plain to the naked eye. This girl's body harbors a strange spirit as well, though I know little of its origins. I care not, for I need the animal spirits! Rei, I know you know, so tell me..."_ Hilary's eyes widened and lit up with a golden glow, and Rei's eyes did the same. Rei's body slacked a bit as the glow grew brighter...

* * *

Rei opened his eyes to find himself within the same room as before, except for the fact that the rooms walls, occupants, and items all shone with that eerie bluish light. Rei glanced around and gasped, leaping to the side at the sight of Kai's body. Within his chest cavity a small flame resided, seemingly burning his insides, but doing no damage. 

"What... What did she do?" he hissed and turned, gasping again. Tyson and Max, and even Hilary and Kenny all had a similar occurrence within their chest cavities, though the substance was different with each one. A liquid substance filled Max as a metallic substance filled Kenny, while Hilary and Tyson's chests both contained small whirlwinds and air pockets. Rei looked at each one in wonder and slight concern. It was when he saw life the strange voids that he backed up; a roaring chimera within Max, A fiery phoenix within Kai, a nameless being within Kenny, and elegant dragons within Hilary and Tyson. It was then he also realized that everyone had the animal spirit.

She wanted each and every one of them.

"Mary! What do you plan to do!" Rei called, suddenly reappearing in the silent eerie room everyone was in again. Kai glanced down at Rei, then back up as Hilary smirked.

_"I need to sustain this body and in order to do that, I need souls, but not just any souls... I need tragic souls..."_ Tyson looked down then back at Rei's small cat form, watching the neko shrink back again, bowing his head looking suddenly shameful.

"Why?" he asked, turning back to Hilary, wishing it wasn't her Mary had messed with.

_"Because... You hear about haunting, and paranormal activity? The angrier the spirit that more activity. The more tragic, the stronger... The stronger the spirit, the longer I last..."_ Kai glared at her, glancing down at Rei, looking inquisitive as to why Rei looked so shameful.

"What about an animal spirit...?" he asked, his eyes glued on Rei's form.

_"An animal spirit is one of the strongest spirits there are! With even one I would last for centuries longer than a normal tortured soul! And just imagine the power I'd have with a tragic animal spirit..."_ Everyone in the room seemed to turn to the trembling cat slowly backing away from his human companions.

"Rei?" Rei froze at the sound of Kai's voice, gulping in fright, but not daring enough to look up. "What does she mean... by tragic...?" Hilary's sinister smirk grew at the sight of Rei backing up further, his back arched and his tail shaking underneath him.

_"I'll explain, if you'd like..."_

"No!" Kai jumped slightly at Rei's sudden yelp, and once again all eyes were on Rei's trembling form.

_"It's already too late, Rei... You're dead now, and your body his slowly desecrating into nothing. It's pointless to stick around the living like this. I'm sure even you've noticed that less and less people acknowledge your existence, and even you have a hard time finding yourself in mirrors you pass by..."_ Kai clenched his fists tightly, his face twisting with inner rage.

"No... I still have chance..." Rei murmured into his fur as he curled tighter into himself, feeling dizzy from nervousness.

_"No, you don't. Come with me now and I will help you deal with the pain in your heart..."_

"What pain!" Hilary looked up to see Kai glaring intensely at her, fire in his already crimson eyes. "What are you talking about? How is Rei a tragic soul?" he asked, looking back at Rei. Rei stood up then, his amber slowly looking up into Kai's eyes with a deep regretful look. He bowed his head then, his ears flopping forward as he began to walk toward Hilary.

_"It is because he died before he had a chance to reveal his innermost feelings to the one person he longed to be with..."_ Kai felt his heart speed up as Rei walked even quicker toward the girl on the railing.

"Longed to be with...?" he questioned quietly.

"That's enough!" Rei yelled, his bowed head rising, his glaring amber eyes coming in contact with Hilary's. "I... will defeat you myself!" Hilary gasped then as Rei raced up and leapt right through her abdomen. Suddenly Miss Mary's astral body began to fall to the ground, with Rei's spirit keeping a tough grip on her shirt with his fangful jaws. Miss Mary of course regained her balance and looked down at Rei with a pleased smile, stroking his spiritual fur as tears streamed from the cat's shut eyes.

Hilary's body released its glow and she slowly fell forward, right into Tyson's arms. Tyson held her close to him, his heart slowing back to normal in reassurance that she was alright.

Kai leaned over the railing to see what had happened to Mary and Rei, but backed up when Mary rose up, hovering a short distance from the balcony itself. She seemed very pleased as she held Rei comfortably in her arms. Rei's small chest rose and fell with his breaths, but his expression was unreadable.

"Rei...?" Kai called. He frowned when Rei flinched and buried his nose into the folds of Mary's shirt.

_"Rei is to come with me now."_

"No!"

_"He chooses to do so!"_ Kai stepped back at Mary's yell and she smirked to herself. _"Rei no longer wishes to reside here with his pain. A spirit is a very fragile state of being and emotions can lead to the destruction of not only himself, but those around him."_ Rei gave a small sniff, his eyes remaining closed and his ears low on his collared neck.

"But, I can still save him... Rei, don't go with her, she's just going to use you to make herself stronger!" Rei turned toward Kai with a sorrowful expression, releasing a whimpering meow.

_"With the Tiger of Lightning I will live for a decent amount of time. With his heart torn due to his affections that are unable to reach his target, his spirit is even stronger. I'm sorry it had to end up this way... Though, if you wish to save Rei, you may return to my island to try... I wouldn't mind a challenge..."_ With that, Mary's body faded into a thick mist, along with Rei, and the mist dispersed into the air.

Kai stared out into the nothingness of the night for the longest time, raising a hand to the railing. Tyson watched as he bowed his head, resting his temple against the cold steel.

"Damn... I lost him again..." Tyson stood, carrying Hilary in a bridal fashion and stepped forward.

"Kai, we can still help him. She said, they'd be on her island-"

"Don't you get it!" Tyson backed up in surprise as Kai lifted his head to glare angrily at him. The railing also caught his attention. A small stack of steam began to rise from underneath Kai's hands for some unknown reason... "Rei chose to go with her! He wanted to leave, so... what am I supposed... to do!" He suddenly pulled away from the railing making everyone gasp. He blinked a few times before looking down at his hands. A piece of the railing sat in each hand, melted to the core. Kai promptly dropped the pieces looking absolutely terrified. "What the hell just happened!"

"Wow..." Max breathed reaching out to touch the metal pieces but quickly recoiled as it burned his fingers. "It's still hot..." he whined, sucking on his throbbing fingers.

"Kai, how did you do that...?" Kenny asked, examining the twisted metal on the floor. Tyson placed Hilary back onto the bed and turned toward Kai frowning at the distant look on his face as he stared at his hands.

"He has found a way to harness the animal spirit within him..." Everyone looked up to see Robert standing in the doorway, fully dressed with a small backpack on.

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked, looking more exasperated now.

"Kai, you care about Rei, right?" Suddenly the room went silent as everyone turned to Kai. Kai stepped back smiling nervously.

"W-well, of course I do, I mean... He's my teammate-"

"No, that's not what I meant," Robert said, looking a bit confused as to why Kai was acting that way. "You know what I mean, don't you?" Once again, all eyes were on Kai.

"What the hell's your point!" Robert remained silent for a moment before he became serious once again.

"My point is, now that Rei is gone and you want him back..." Kai really hated how his fellow teammates kept giving him odd looks. "You are able to use the power of your internal spirit. In your case, I'm guessing the power to rely on fire." Kai looked down at his hands again, focusing intensely and suddenly a small flame appeared on both of his palms. He watched the fire for a moment before closing his palms and extinguishing the flames. Robert smiled as Kai bowed his head, his bangs covering his eyes.

"Well then... I see now..." Kai looked up again, his eyes radiating determination. "Let's go get Rei back, and destroy that witch, right now..."

* * *

Miss Mary landed gently on the porch of the Apple Ridge Inn and strode through the massive double door, Rei in hand. She released a pleased sigh and looked down at the blank-faced cat in her arms. 

"Welcome home, sweetie." Mrs. Romanoff and Evelyn soon greeted them, coming through the door leading into the main dining room.

"Oh, Miss Mary, I see you've retrieved the small cat beast, yeah?" Romanoff asked, smiling. Mary nodded.

"And soon I will have the others as well. Evelyn, prepare a different trunk for the newest arrivals. They'll need all the room they can get..." Mary ran a few fingers along Rei's back as she spoke. Evelyn bowed respectively and left to accomplish her task in a different area. Rei's eyes flashed as he followed Evelyn's form. "Well, Rei, I trust you won't run away, since you know that you returning to normal is useless..." Rei looked up at her with large eyes.

"There's no use running away... I understand that..." Miss Mary looked at Rei for the longest time, then held him out in front of her with a sudden bright smile.

"You do...?" Rei nodded.

"I do..." He looked up at her and yelped as she started laughing. "What's... so funny...?" he asked, looking a bit scared.

"I just had a brilliant idea! Rei, you are an ideal spirit to absorb when the moon is out, but I just realized that with your little friends I'll have spirit to spare!" Rei looked confused.

"Moon...?"

"Yes, of course!" she replied, carrying Rei into the living room. She plopped down the couch, keeping Rei on her lap as the fireplace started up with a wave of her hand. "Every few centuries I have to absorb the souls I've collected over the years, but it has to be when the moon is full. Everyone knows that the spirit world and earth are closer when the moon is full. Take werewolves for example..."

"Yes, but what was your idea...?" Rei felt Mary pull him to her and snuggle his fur, tapping on the white collar surrounding his neck.

"My idea? Perhaps you needn't be used in my soul sucking process..." Rei looked up in question.

"You mean...?"

"Why not? I think I'll keep you as a pet instead..." Rei choked a little as she yanked his collar toward her. She smeared the writing on the collar with her thumb and with another sweep of her thumb, the writing changed. Not only that, but she added a bell as well. "There, now you're Rei, whom belongs to me..." Rei looked down, frowning a bit. "Oh, don't be sad," she cooed. "Now, at least, you'll live on forever! Like me!" Rei remained silent.

"Miss Mary, a trunk has been prepared," came Evelyn's voice from the doorway. Mary nodded and stood, placing Rei on the couch.

"Very well. Rei, feel free to explore your new home. I'll inform our residents of their new companion. Hey, you might even get along with Madeline!" Before Rei could ask whom that was exactly, Miss Mary was off. Rei sighed slowly.

"Master Rei, perhaps you'd like to meet Mistress Madeline?" Rei looked up in surprise to his new title, then paled. Evelyn leaned over the edge of the couch placing a small bat on the cushion. Rei's fur stood up as the bat scurried toward him and affectionately nuzzled in his fur.

"What! Not you again!" Rei definitely recognized that bat from his first visit, and he wasn't too keen on being friendly with it... or her...

"Well, it seems she likes you. I shall be leaving then. If you need my assistance you may come and find me or call. I will be either in the upstairs bedrooms or in the dining area." With that said, she bowed and exited the room.

"No wait, don't leave me here with-" Rei paled as the maid disappeared from his keen vision.

"Is she gone?" Rei nodded in response, then-... Wait...

"Did you just-!" Rei was hushed as the bat placed one hooked finger in front of his muzzle.

"Shh..." She looked around. "You're the second animal she's taken in... You must be special, because the mistress doesn't take just anyone..." Rei looked positively confused.

"Okay..."

"Quickly, follow me," she said suddenly, and jumped off the couch to take flight. Rei quickly leapt off the couch to follow her down the hall. Suddenly, his visit became much more interesting...

* * *

TBC...


	8. Falling Pieces

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 8: Fallling Pieces

* * *

The bayou waters leveled with an eerie fog hovering over it. Several crocodiles floated in the water not even taking notice to the rather large boat silently drifting through. The motor made a low buzz as Robert turned the wheel every now and then to keep the boat on course. In front, Kai's eyes sifted through the fog, taking notice of every object and shape. The others resided in the boat, looking through the front window just behind Kai. 

"We're almost there," came Robert's voice. Even though he whispered it still made Kai jump. The area was so silent he could hear his heartbeat loudly in his ears, and thought that Robert could probably hear it too. He was so nervous, unable to think of anything but getting Rei back, but it still hurt him inside. How could he not see that Rei cared about him in that way. It was so obvious now that he looked back on it. He felt so stupid, and regretted not telling Rei that he felt the same.

"There it is..." he whispered, trying to change his own subject. Sure enough, the island sat not too far away. It looked even scarier returning to the blasted place, but Kai wasn't as scared anymore. As a matter of fact, Kai wasn't afraid of anything, but one thing. Losing Rei forever...

* * *

"I can't believe that evil woman has done all this..." Rei watched with mirth as the ballroom came alive with old guests, all trying to find a way out, but only bumping into each other. He turned his head, careful not to fall off of the rafters, as he looked at Madeline. 

"Yes... keep in mind, these are the souls she left to wander around aimlessly, just to give the Inn a scare factor. She keeps hoards of them in a trunk somewhere else..." Rei glared at the spirits once more.

"So what about you?" he asked, looking up at the little bat again. Madeline frowned, her face showing that of grief.

"I was visiting here for my honeymoon..." Rei looked astonished.

"You're... or... were a newlywed?" She nodded.

"Yes... I'd just gotten married to a wealthy French gentleman, and my father was very happy. Now I would be able to produce a blood heir to the kingdom..." Rei suddenly gaped.

"You're a princess!" Madeline nodded with a smile. His surprise seemed to lift her mood.

"Yes, in a small island off the coast of South America. My father though it would be a great idea to come here for my honeymoon, but that was not the case. On the second day, the young Evelyn took us on a tour and we immediately got lost. The house became alive with ghosts and ghouls and soon, we were trapped. My... husband was pushed out of a window, and unfortunately didn't survive... The mistress took his soul, but I begged her not to. She said she'd keep him in a special place for safe keeping if I became her pet. I instantly agreed, and she pulled my soul away from my body. The next thing I knew, I was a tiny bat with a small bell collar... My husband was no where to be found..."

Rei listened to her tale with a heavy heart. So she lost a loved one as well...

"And what about you? I saw you earlier, but you didn't seem to take to me well..." Rei smiled, watching his tail swing back and forth below him.

"Yeah, I'm... sorry about that... Well, long story short, I was here with my friends on an invite. Apparently, she knew me long before I knew her... Anyways, my friends should be long gone from this place by now. I..." Rei paused.

"Don't be shy, Rei. We're going to be here for a while..." Rei nodded, suddenly bursting with energy.

"Yeah... I wanted to make sure my friends never had to deal with place again, so... I had to hurt someone very close to me..." Madeline bowed her head.

"I see..."

"I... loved him..." Madeline smiled softly.

"I see..."

"I don't want his soul sucked out and used to try to make that jerk look younger! I have to protect them all... It's the least I can do, since it's my fault we came here in the first place. I felt so out of place in their group, but occasionally, I would find my place. Who knew it would end up causing so much pain..."

"It's okay..." Madeline soothed. Rei could only stare off into nothingness, his mind filled with memories of his human life as they slowly faded away into the nothingness he was staring into...

* * *

"So, everyone knows what to do right?" Kai asked everyone as they piled onto the shoreline. 

"Yeah, stay in our groups and look for the door of doom," Tyson mused as he jumped off the boat. He looked up seeing Hilary watching him with worry. "Hey, Hil, what's wrong?" Hilary pulled back, holding her hands over her heart with a frightened look.

"I'm just... worried... Normally you run off to face these huge and powerful beybladers and end up winning since you've got Dragoon and all... but this time... it's not a beyblader... it's something else... Something much more unpredictable..." Tyson turned to see Kai and the others gathering up their belongings a distance away, but still in sight. He smiled, then, and climbed back onto the boat, immediately catching Hilary's trembling lips with his own. He pulled her into a comforting embrace as he kissed her, trying to calm her. He pulled away from her to smile and could only hold her as she threw herself against him.

"It's okay to be scared, Hil... I'm scared too, but we have to save Rei. Something about him leaving just didn't seem right. I don't think he really wanted to go, and so, we have to do something... And don't worry... if anything happens, I'll rescue you..." Hilary pulled away to look into his honest maroon eyes, shining with affection. She looked a bit uneasy, but smiled anyway.

"Thanks," she mumbled, starting toward the edge of the boat. Tyson nodded and jumped off to help her down.

Max sighed heavily looking rather discouraged as Kai stared off into the forest. His brow knit with slight frustration.

"What's wrong, Max?" Kenny asked, strapping on a small backpack. Max continued to look rather jealous.

"Why does Kai get to have to cool power... Is it love, er... something like that?" Max looked down at Kenny as if examining him. Kenny then looked and all of a sudden looked rather disgusted.

"Ew, Max, you're not thinking of-"

"Oh, absolutely not!" Max stepped away from Kenny and up to Kai. "Hey, Kai?" Kai looked back without much interest.

"What?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how you got that power to work, is all..." Kai turned to him with a curious look.

"I just felt it and focused and it came to me. Now stop asking stupid questions and let's go," he said, somewhat harshly. Max stood where he was with a dejected look. He raised his hands to examine them. A strong feeling passed through him but he was unable to place it. Was it sorrow or the feeling of abandonment? Something of that nature... Max decided to do what Kai did. Focus. Something deep inside him felt different all of a sudden.

Max steadily followed the others as they walked through the woods, though his attention was more on his trembling hands.

"Come on..." he coaxed, feeling even more frustrated than before. His hands remained void of any such power. Max's heart began to sink slightly. He'd always envied the others for their different abilities and how something great always happened to them. Since when had anything ever happened to him? Suddenly Max's heart sped up and he raised his hands into the air as he yelled, "Why doesn't it work for me!" Kai and the others turned around and gasped as a pair of huge werewolves raced up from behind Max.

"Max, look out!" Kai warned, his hands already ignited with small flames. Max turned to watch the wolves close in and suddenly, he frowned, looking rather angry. In an instant, a rush of water seeped from under him and the wolves were washed away through the trees with the tall wave from nowhere. Kai stopped, gaping at the complexity of the situation. He looked at his own hands, watching the flames dissipate, then back at Max watching with interest at the swirling water dancing around his fists. "Max...?"

"YES! Oh, yeah! I did it! I have the power!" Everyone sweatdropped at the childish dance Max was doing in celebration to the birthing of his new power.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that Max and Kai aren't the only ones with weird powers..." Kenny mused, turning to Tyson and Hilary. "Tyson, why don't you try something?" Tyson blinked a few times before examining his hand. He clenched it into fist then pulled his body into a battle stance. He focused all of his energy into his arms and pulled back. He waited for a moment then released the energy to his finger tips and like magic, a gust of wind blew roughly against a tree, knocking off several leaves.

"Cool! I have the power of invisible shockwaves!" Hilary walked up and smacked him over the head, making him yelp with pain.

"You dork, that's wind!" Tyson thought it over.

"Well, wind's cool too..." Hilary sighed in exasperation.

"That's very interesting... Hm?" Kenny looked up at Kai whom was looking at his hand with an earnest expression. "What's the matter, Kai? Don't feel special anymore?" Kenny smirked. One glare from Kai shut him up instantly.

"That's not it. Okay, now that everyone is all power rangers like, can we please continue!" Tyson and Max looked at each other with grave expressions.

"You know..."

"Suddenly, I don't like these powers anymore..." Tyson finished, as Max and he stared at their hands with mirth.

Soon, the gang found themselves on the outskirts of the forest staring right into the entryway to the very place they wished never to return to. Memories began to flood back into their minds of the terrifying events that took place last time, and here they were trying to get back in. It seemed almost suicidal to even think of returning to a place like this, but a very important piece to their chain was missing, and life would never be complete again without that piece...

* * *

"And so the dawning of my new era begins..." Miss Mary mused, looking upon an old leather trunk. A newer one sat right beside it, open and empty. "Soon enough, I will have my animal spirits... The most powerful, too. I shall keep the Tiger God of Thunder as a trinket, along with that useless bat princess, and then I will use the Phoenix God of Fire, the Chimera God of the Sea, and the Dragon God of the Wind. I'll keep the Dragon Queen as another pet, along with that cyborg animal thing with the glasses. It's all working out... How wonderful..." 

"Miss Mary... Our other guests have arrived..." Mary turned to see Evelyn standing in the doorway. She eyed her with a distant look.

"Evelyn...?"

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Do you think that young girl would look good with dress?" Evelyn made no reaction.

"I know not, I don't have opinions..." Miss Mary frowned then.

"That's too bad... I think I may have to get a new maid... One with a more vibrant personality..." Evelyn made no reaction. "Ugh, you're so boring... I can't even scare you. In that case, I'll just destroy you..."

"As you wish..." Miss Mary suddenly became very angry.

"Never mind that! How about I give you back your mind and send you off into the house. You always were afraid of every little bump!" Mary waved her hand and suddenly a light shined in Evelyn's eyes and a look of fright overcame her. "That's better... now go away and leave me be!" Another wave and Evelyn dissipated into the air, her body teleporting into another part of the house.

* * *

Rei carefully padded across the hallway, giving a bare back ride to his new princess friend. Madeline clung tightly to Rei's collar, enjoying the ride for the most part. Suddenly, though, Rei stopped midstep, his eyes dilating. 

"What's happened, Rei? Are you okay?" Madeline slid off of his back and scurried to his front, looking frightened at the pain in his eyes. "Rei? Rei, what's-"

"They've come back... They... came back..."

"Who? Who came back?" she asked, grabbing onto Rei's collar and climbing onto his back once again.

"They did... They... Argh! I can't remember their names!" Rei suddenly collapsed, mewling in pain. Madeline watched him with concern and frowned at the pounding flesh above his heart. It looked as though his ribs would burst any minute.

"What can I do...?"

"I have to see them... I don't know why... but I need to..." Madeline yelped in surprise as Rei stood up in a flash and barely had enough time to grab onto his collar as he sped off down the hallway toward the front room of the house. Something there beckoned his heart, and he had no choice but to see what it was.

* * *

Kai slowly opened the doors to the house stepping into the dead atmosphere. The others followed cautiously, keeping in a group. 

"So far, I've got normal readings of some paranormal activity," Robert piped up. Kenny placed a laptop on the ground and began typing on it, opening up a program.

"This map of the house is incredible, Robert," Kenny cooed, loving technology oh so much. Robert nodded in agreement.

"Years of research went into that, and you don't know what I had to go through to find the blueprints..." Kai made a noise of boredom as he fixed an earphone to his right ear.

"You sure this'll work?" he asked, turning to see Tyson doing the same with another earphone, as well as Max. Hilary examined the room, noticing that it looked much older than the first time they'd been there.

"Yes, this should work. Alright, you three, Kai, Tyson, and Max, being the ones with those weird... power... things... will go out into the areas assigned, looking for that door." The three nodded at Kenny's statement. "These earphones will keep us all in touch and the bracelets you've got will let us know where you are on the computer at all times. Meanwhile, Robert, Hilary, and I will stay here. And of course, Rei's body will be right here." Robert carefully pulled the blankets away from Rei's face, making a face to the almost white skin. "We'll keep an eye on him, in case Rei's soul appears-"

"I'm the one who's going to find him..." Kai said. "I'll give him a piece of my mind..." Kenny gulped slightly, fearing what Kai had planned for Rei.

"Alright, then everyone got it?" With a nod from everyone, the three explorers set out to find the coveted door of doom. Of course, only one will find the door, so what exactly would the other two find? No one really knew at this point, but they knew it'd be a scream...

* * *

TBC...


	9. With Me In Spirit

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 9: With Me In Spirit

_

* * *

I've been searching inside myself for a reason to live for the longest time now. My family is dead and I am alone in the world. I recently found that I could be close to other people and refer to them as my friends. Sure, I had friends that were similar to me in many ways, but I just couldn't get used to being near people all the time with the longing to be with my parents once again. I had left them and found new friends. I was always finding new friends, and then I met my team, the Blade Breakers. Never before had I felt so close to anyone. I battled with them, ate with them, shared precious moments and thousands of laughs with them, but I was still incomplete. I was still only a small portion of their cycle, and I wanted to be a reason for a cycle instead... _

_I have a very selfish heart, though at times I find it hard to admit even to myself. I've found that it was my greed and hunger for the feeling of being loved that made my vision so narrow. In reality, I had a home, a special place, and reason for living. I live to fulfill my duty as a precious link in my friends' chain. I have no right to disrupt their chain, just because I wanted to own it. Truth be told, we all owned the chain at sometime. It belonged to Tyson when he won the Beyblade Championship Title. It belonged to Max when he found a new way to lighten the mood and have fun. It belonged to Kenny when he fixed our Beyblades to perfection. It belonged to Hilary when she drilled us just as ruthlessly as Kai would, and made us lunch as a reward. It belonged to Kai when he led us through even the most difficult of challenges. And it belonged to me when someone needed a shoulder to lean on, or a helping hand when in trouble. We all had a portion in this chain, and I see that now._

_The only problem now was..._

_I am dead..._

_I need a way to get back to them! Which leads me to another problem..._

_Suddenly, I've forgotten whom I was supposed to get back to..._

_It seems, though, that the closer I get to them, the more I remember..._

_I just wish I was faster..._

_Just when I thought it was hopeless, I find him... I always do..._

* * *

Kai stood in the hallway, panting slightly from the speed of his earlier running. Just in front of him, the small black and white spirit cat of all his troubles stood on shaking paws, panting even harder. Kai's eyes narrowed at the sight of him. He felt so angry, blaming Rei for abandoning him, even though he had no right to do so. 

"Rei." The cat's ear's fell back as his paws drew him forward. The little bat at his side stayed put though she wasn't afraid. She'd met Kai before and he'd even helped her.

"K... Kai... I'm so..."

"Why did you leave with her?" Kai asked, keeping his face devoid of any emotion. Internally it was the toughest battle of his life.

"I... I had no choice-"

"You did have a choice..." Rei looked up, feeling his emotions readying to spill out of him at any moment. "I promised that I'd save you... You didn't give me a chance..."

"Kai, I didn't want you to get hurt! I wanted you leave here forever so nothing would happen to you!"

"But I got hurt anyway!" Rei flinched, stepping back as Kai began to walk forward. "It killed me when you chose to come back here with that bitch and leave me behind." Rei felt his chest tighten as Kai kneeled in front of him and pulled him into his arms in a crushing embrace. "I wanted you with me, Rei. I wanted to save you and return you to your human body myself. I wanted to... embrace you and welcome you back myself..." Rei pressed himself closer to Kai, his body regaining the lost feeling of warmth and compassion.

"I didn't want you to suffer..."

"And look what you did..."

"I'm sorry!" Rei cried, trying to loose himself in Kai's embrace. Madeline watched as her heart melted with happiness. It was only right she gave Rei a favor for such an experience.

"You are Kai?" Kai looked up to see the little bat from before, with a tired smile.

"Yes... and you-"

"I am Madeline, but you needn't worry yourself with names. I want to help you return Rei to his original body." Kai looked suddenly fearful.

"You mean... you know how...?" Madeline nodded. "You... don't know how much that means to me... to Rei..." Madeline nodded again.

"Please, it's the least I can do. Rei's been so kind to me... Now let's hurry. A soul can only last for so long outside of its body. Kai held out his hand allowing the little bat to climb on and up to his shoulder before speeding back down the hallway, Rei's spirit in his safe arms once again. Rei, however, felt a strange sensation pour through him, and opened his eyes to reveal a pair of glowing amber orbs.

_"You think you can return so easily...? You're friends shall share your fate..."_

* * *

Max made his way down the hallway with a frightened look on his face. 

"I should've brought a buddy..." he gulped. Suddenly a noise to his right stopped him in his tracks. A bluish light appeared below his feet making him look down in question. Within seconds the light extended and enveloped his entire body.

'Oh no... What... is this...?' Max's eyes dulled and a small orb floated out of his chest containing a tiny turtle creature. Max's lifeless body fell to the ground as the little orb began to grow. It became larger and the entire area filled with a raging emotion of sorrow and frustration; a very tragic feeling. Within a few minutes, the orb burst, and a large reptilian beast emerged with hatred in its eyes that emptied the hall of any spirit that formerly wandered there.

The beast trampled through the hallway, ignoring the dead body beside it and began howling into the atmosphere; an eerie howl that scared even the most grotesque of spirits.

Not too far away, Tyson shared a similar experience, his spirit orb morphing into a ravenous dragon. It tore through the halls, occasionally devouring a careless soul as it passed.

_"Two down, one to go... I may as well let them say goodbye..."_

* * *

Rei felt an overwhelming calm wash over him, although there was a large amount of pain. His head and back felt as though he's been slammed into something. He felt cold and overall uncomfortable. A released a small groan of discontent as he opened his eyes ever so slowly. He felt his head being lifted into someone's embrace and finally, he opened his eyes all the way. The first thing he saw was Kai, smiling down at him with an emotional look in his crimson eyes. He breathed, finding even that task a little difficult. 

"Am I...?" he questioned, he voice slow and raspy. He smiled as Kai nodded and pulled up his hand, showing Rei that he had made it. He was alive once again, and back in his original body. Rei smiled sleepily. "Well, I was beginning to give up hope-"

Rei's body froze when he felt a pair of soft lips press against his own. His whole being grew warm and a new feeling stirred in his heart, making his chest hurt. He'd never experienced such a wonderful feeling before.

He lazily closed his eyes and placed a hand on Kai's cheek, shyly parting his lips as Kai's tongue massaged his own. Rei sat up further, deepening the kiss as Kai wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pressing their bodies closer. This was the feeling that Rei had longed for. The feeling of being completely loved by someone, and having the heart to love them back. The feeling of a safety zone within the aura of another. The feeling of belonging to Kai, in any way...

Kai's lips lingered on Rei's for a few precious moments afterward until he reluctantly pulled away, opening his crimson eyes. Rei's amber orbs met with them shining with a happiness Rei had never felt before. Kai pressed his forehead against Rei's knowing that his body was probably extremely sore. Sure enough, Rei closed his eyes and leaned heavily against Kai, seeking some comfort from the possible bruised back and broken ribs. Kai looked up to see Kenny and Robert from a distance, while Hilary looked through papers at the front desk.

Finally... Rei was back within his grasp, and he was ready to finish that horrible woman once and for all...

Suddenly, every door in the area, including the windows, began to open and close with such force that various shutters broke off the hinges and plummeted to the ground.

_"I finally have all the pieces I need..."_ Kai looked up to see Miss Mary hovering in the doorway, her face covered in a thick film of blood. "Join us, Dragon of Wind and Chimera of Water!" The ceiling gave way just as a huge blue dragon dove in, while one of the hallway doors blasted out as a huge dark green chimera trampled through. The dragon landed near Miss Mary and stood strong beside her and the chimera did the same. Hilary watched the dragon with a heavy feeling in her heart, and soon took a few steps forward.

"Tyson...?" The dragon growled warningly as she stepped closer and closer.

_"I'd stop if I were you..."_ Just then, the dragon lashed out, barely missing Hilary's face. She remained where she stood for a moment before falling to her knees and sitting, a feeling of being lost evident on her face. _"Now all that's left... is the Phoenix of Fire..."_ With a wave of her arm, Kai felt something sharp and thick pierce through his body and within seconds he blacked out...

* * *

Kai opened his eyes seeing a world of endless blue lights and streaks completely surrounding him. He peered down taking notice that he was floating in midair, the area void of any form of ground or gravity. A strange ooze of red caught his eye, then, and it appeared to be small droplets of blood trickling from his chest. A rather large wound almost covered his chest and there wasn't much shirt to cover it. 

He turned, ignoring the wound, as it didn't hurt, and found that he was not alone in this world. As a matter of fact, he could see more than a dozen people some far, some closer. The closest, he noticed, were none other Max and Tyson. Unlike the others and himself, though, they were constricted by thick thorny vines of spiritual energy and appeared to be in pain. Tyson's eyes stood open, the entire eye covered in a dull blue light, as Max's were green. They were the only ones like that, but why, Kai didn't know.

He carefully pushed himself forward, toward Tyson, to try to release him, but stopped as the pain in his chest increased more and more to a point where it was starting to become unbearable. He keeled over, holding his chest, feeling his whole body burn. He opened his eyes gasping at the steadily forming vines over his ankles. He released himself to grab at the vines, but within seconds he was completely constricted and unable to move.

Kai's heart began to pound in his chest making even more blood ooze from his wound, but soon, a numb feeling began to surround him and he limped, feeling nothing but a powerful rage burning deep within him.

* * *

Rei slid back across the floor, holding his bleeding chest. He looked up watching with a heavy heart as Kai's body lay limp underneath a fiery phoenix, flapping its wings in anger. Miss Mary smiled in content, snapping her fingers. The phoenix turned her way with angry crimson eyes, glaring intensely at her. 

"Come to me and do as I say. Pretty soon, I'll have enough power to make myself live for millions of eons." The phoenix snorted and turned away, looking toward the dragon and chimera in a challenging fashion. The other beasts looked ready to do battle until Miss Mary smacked the dragon's snout. "How dare you disobey me! Phoenix! Come forth now!" The phoenix once again snorted and flapped its wings, crying out. The dragon and chimera suddenly left the lady's side and all three beasts exploded through the ceiling. Miss Mary screamed in frustration and within seconds flew into the air as well, following the ensuing battle between gods.

"Rei!" Rei turned as Hilary ran up to him, asking if he was alright. Rei turned to Kenny.

"Where are they?" Kenny jumped in fright, then quickly looked to his computer.

"They're all above the roof. I think they're fighting one another..." Rei growled and tried to stand, but Hilary stopped him.

"Rei, don't move! You were barely brought back and it looks like you've still got your injuries from your... first death..." Rei carefully pushed her away from him and stood, holding his chest.

"We have to stop them from fighting and find Tyson and Max's bodies." Kenny raised a hand as if in question, then continued.

"I've still got them pin-pointed from the trackers. Robert and I will get them. Together rather than separate, mind you. You never know... what else is out there." Kenny looked white in the face as he said that. Rei nodded, then felt a tug on his pants. He turned backing up in fright, almost knocking over Hilary.

"What the hell is that!" he shrieked, eyeing the corpsy body trying to crawl to him.

"The room... Downstairs..." Rei continued to back up, feeling his stomach lurch.

"Wait a minute... She looks familiar..." Rei turned to Hilary with a disgusted look.

"Oh really...? So you've seen this... corpse... before?" Hilary suddenly gasped in recognition.

"It's Evelyn, the maid! I'm sure of it! Look at... well... what's left of her hair..." Rei grimaced again, before yelping in fright as Evelyn grabbed his ankle.

"Get off of me... please..." Rei whined, trying to shake her.

"Downstairs... room... souls..." Rei looked more willing to listen at the mention of souls.

"What do you mean...?"

"Two trunks... use... six... keys..." Rei's eyes widened at her... struggled... words, as he looked toward Kenny and Robert's retreating forms.

"Wait! Give me those keys!" Kenny and Robert turned and fell over as Rei grabbed the keys and raced off.

"Rei, come back!" Hilary yelled, concern evident in her ruby eyes.

"Too late..." Kenny droned. "He's already down the hallway..."

* * *

Miss Mary restrained the chimera within the forest, but found it difficult to restrain the dragon and phoenix. Fire and wind erupted all around her as the two beasts did battle. She almost cried in disappointment at the various wounds marring her beloved souls. 

"Stop it! You're killing each other!" They paid no mind as they continued, as forceful as ever. Mary turned to the chimera in her grasp, wincing as it began to break loose. "Stop! I haven't absorbed enough souls for this kind of power!" she yelled, her body starting to die slowly. The moon was approaching its whole way to fast for her own safety. If she didn't absorb those spirits fast, she would parish...

* * *

Rei started to slow as he ran. His blood was slowly draining from his tired body and it was getting harder and harder to breath. He knew his body was shutting down, but he had to hold out long enough to save his friends. He'd finally found his link in their chain and had no choice but to try. He could feel his heart beat pitifully as he thought of his nearing end. he seriously doubted he'd make it out alive, again... 

Rei finally fell to his knees, taking a short break to catch his breath. He turned to the side as Madeline landed on his bruised shoulder, offering as much comfort as she could. Seeing her animal form gave Rei slight inspiration to continue, so he forced his dying body to stand and continued to walk forward.

"Rei, you don't have to continue! You're going to kill yourself!"

"I have no choice... They're my friends... I own them that much..."

"But, your body will die long before you succeed!"

"Have a little faith in me..." Rei whispered, smiling slightly. Madeline felt tears in her eyes watching him press forward. Soon enough, the door he'd been searching for came into view. Rei's smile widened, but Madeline continued to cry. She fell off his shoulder and watched him struggle the rest of the way. Rei's shaky hands gripped the ring of keys and unlocked the first door. Another door lay beyond, so he repeated the process. Rei stopped after the fourth, feeling his insides shifting into uncomfortable positions. He couldn't- wouldn't give up, until he succeeded, and was able to find the strength to open the final door. With only one key left, Rei trekked forward into the darkened room to unlock the final chest.

* * *

TBC...


	10. The Ultimate Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

* * *

Beyblade

Broken Down Ghost House

By: Plushie-Sensei

Chapter 10: The Ultimate Sacrifice

* * *

Hilary stood on the nearly destroyed porch with tears in her eyes. The dragon continued to beat the phoenix senselessly, while the phoenix retorted with equally powerful attacks. It was difficult to watch such a sight; former best friends' spirits waging war against one another for no apparent reason. Hilary drew back into the building collapsing against a wall. She pulled her knees up to her chest feeling absolutely helpless. There really was nothing she could do for them. All she could do was weep as her heart ached...

* * *

Kenny leaned down observing Max's hollow body with a sick feeling in his stomach. He mentally thanked his short stature seeing as though he was too small to carry any of his friends. 

"It's going to be a little difficult to carry both back..." Robert whined, already carrying Tyson's body on his back.

"Well, this'll only happen once, so just deal with it for now." Robert glared at him as Kenny helped him get the blond on his back as well.

* * *

The final chest was in sight, and soon Rei would save whom he cared for. He leaned on the chest, breathing heavily as he raised his hand with the last key. The key fit easily within the lock, but Rei stopped. His vision was blurring and his body began to feel numb in various places for brief flashes of time. His heart began to beat quicker suddenly afraid. He knew he was about to die, and more and more he became terrified. 

"I don't want to die..."

* * *

The phoenix slowed its attack, backing down. Its eyes grew wild with uncontrollable rage as it clumsily thrashed around, knocking over trees and small portions of the house. Miss Mary suddenly gripped her chest tightly, releasing the chimera to the forest. 

"He's unlocking the chest!" she gasped out. She fell to her knees, shaking her head frantically at her disappearing limbs. "I'll stop you, you little beast..." she spat, disappearing through the roof.

* * *

Kai's body lay motionless, his back bloody with the stab wound he'd received from Mary. His skin was pale, lifeless and cold, void of any emotion. A strange thing happened then. Kai's fingers began to very slowly move. They steadily formed a weak fist and a small heart beat sounded against the hardwood floor.

* * *

Rei twisted the key, tears slipping down his face as he gripped his chest until his whole hand became white. The fear of dying made him sob as he fell off the chest, allowing the top to pop open and souls were released into the darkened room. Rei could barely make out the hundreds of lights dancing around, and winced when a forceful pressure was added to his neck. He found himself being dragged off the floor and suspended in the air. He opened his eyes seeing a very angry, dying woman. 

"You've ruined everything!" she screamed. "And now, I will ruin you-"

"Go ahead..." Mary paused, glaring at him. "I've won... I've saved them and there's... nothing you can do about it..." Miss Mary's face cringed with anger and in a flash she screamed out, her hand flying forward, followed by a sickening snap.

* * *

Hilary pulled her head up, hearing an odd noise, and gasped in surprise as Kai's body began to move. She made a motion to help him, but stopped hearing Kenny and Robert returning with Tyson and Max's bodies. 

"Kenny, Kai's still alive!" she yelled, pointing to the moving corpse. Kenny made a face.

"That's impossible! His spirit is outside fighting things as we speak!"

"Oh yeah?" she challenged and Kenny turned yelping in fright as Kai began to pick himself up.

"Holy-" A loud, thunderous crash blew open the whole front wall as the phoenix rushed in screeching in pain. Hilary watched with fright, but snapped toward Kai with a whine as he began to speak.

"Come back... You belong to me... and I'm not about to let you go... just yet..." he whispered. The phoenix's body sparked with flames for several minutes, trying to regain control, but was suddenly sucked away, and headed straight for Kai's body. Kai yelled out in pain as the soul filled his being with life once more. His wounds began to close; leaving small marks where once had been great openings. The flash of fire blinded everyone in the area, but faded soon. Kenny looked up with widened eyes to see Kai standing up observing his hands with a frightened look in his eyes. Kai slowly lowered his hands and looked up, his eyes full of life and spirit, along with a hint of confusion. "What... happened?"

"Oh my gawd, you live!" he heard Hilary sigh. He turned and gave her an odd look as she hugged him. Soon, though she released him and Kenny and Robert joined them with Tyson and Max.

"How did you come back?" Robert asked, intrigued. Kai gave him a confused look, then suddenly looked frightened again.

"Where are their spirits?" he asked. His answer was a horrifying screech from the chimera as it blasted through the room, currently being attacked by the dragon. "Oh..."

"We have to stop them!" Hilary yelled, grabbing Kai's arm. He watched her for a moment before turning to the two 'dead' bladers on the floor.

"You have to try to wake them up..." he said quietly. Hilary turned to Tyson's body and immediately fell at his side, shaking him and calling his name. Kenny proceeded to help Max in the same manner.

"Please, wake up! Tyson!" she sobbed, shaking him with as much force as she could. Kai turned to the dragon, hope shining in his eyes as the dragon began to act confused. The chimera thrashed around with the same stupidity as well, signaling that it was working.

"Keep it up," he said lightly.

"Tyson, if you don't wake up this second!" Hilary yelled and suddenly, the dragon screeched and the flashes of lights returned.

"Come on, Max! You've almost got it!" Kenny urged, watching the blonde's hand fist itself. Hilary stopped her shaking as she backed up, watching Tyson pull himself off the floor. The dragon faded into a blinding light as well as the chimera, and the room erupted with wind and water droplets, making it difficult to breath.

* * *

Miss Mary turned to the empty chest, crying dry tears as she looked inside it. She turned toward Rei's still body with a glare. 

"You ruined everything!" she yelled, and soon began to gag. Blood spilled from her face, leaking from her eye sockets and mouth by the gallon. Soon, she was emptied of her blood and half of her skeleton form fell into the chest, along with various internal organs. Her blood slowly flooded toward Rei's body, stopping just short of his own, smeared across the floor. Rei's face paled considerably as the life slowly left him, but he found enough strength to open his eyes and stare up at the turning ceiling.

"Oh no..." Rei's eyes moved to the side, his head following afterward. A young woman covered in a soft welcoming light kneeled beside him, placing a warm hand on his face. Rei leaned into the touch, wanting desperately to leave his aching body. "Rei, you mustn't give up! You need to live!" Rei looked to the side, seeing a tall man beside her. He still couldn't recognize her though she sounded so familiar...

"You've helped us so much..." the man said. "Please try to hang on..." Rei shook his head slowly, a smile forming on his bloody lips.

"I can't... I don't want to..." he whispered. The woman placed a hand over her aching heart.

"You have to try..." she said brokenly. Rei shook his head once again.

"No..."

"So..." Rei turned to the man again, eyeing him as he spoke. "You're just going to give up? You're just going to leave your friends?"

"Yes..." The woman grabbed his shoulders, anger clear in her voice.

"And what about Kai!" she yelled. She backed up at the look in Rei's eyes. Tears began to slip down his cheeks as his brow rose in sorrow. "Yes... Think about what you're doing Rei. I know it hurts, but you have to try..." Rei choked on a sob as his heartbeat began to quicken.

"Hold on, they're coming," the man said, placing a hand on Rei's stomach. Rei closed his eyes tightly, the pain ripping through him like knives. He wanted so desperately to just let go, but these people were right. He didn't have the right to leave. He began to sob even more as his heart rate quickened steadily.

* * *

Kai raced through the hallway with almost blinding speed, ignoring the various souls trying to find the exit. Fear crept up his spine with every step he took as he turned into another hallway. He slid to a stop upon the vision of a door opened to reveal nothing but blackness. He paled at the dying sounds from within and rushed forward. 

"Hang on, Rei... I'm almost there..." Kai gulped.

* * *

The woman stepped back, covering her ears at the sight of such a dear friend dying in agony. 

"Madeline!" the man called. The woman shook her head backing up, then stopped, turning to find Kai in the doorway, his eyes dilated with fright.

"Hurry!" she yelled, snapping Kai back to reality. Kai rushed forward, taking the man's place at Rei's side. The man rose to his feat, holding the woman close to him as they watched.

"Rei..." Kai muttered, staring at Rei as his body racked with sobs. Kai carefully lifted Rei's head into his arm. "Rei, look at me," he said, trying to suppress his aching heart. Rei began to calm his thrashing, but his breathing continued to come in short gasps of air.

"No... I can't... no more... I don't want-"

"Rei, stop it! I'm right here! It's me! It's Kai! I'm right here!" Rei shook his head, weakly flailing about.

"Let me go!" Rei yelled, continuing to fidget restlessly. Kai pulled the boy into his arms, holding him tightly. Rei's fidgeting began to stop.

"Never..." Kai growled, squeezing Rei's body. Rei's eyes opened to look over Kai's shoulder. Madeline and the man were watching him with soft eyes, but looking fearful. "You can make it, Rei... You've done it before..." Rei's eyes softened.

"I can't... do it again..."

"Why not!" Rei flinched at the forceful tone in Kai's voice. The numb feelings in his legs and arms began to settle in and the pain was slowly going away.

"You have to let me go..." Rei mumbled, closing his eyes again. Kai pulled away looking at Rei's face as he became more and more peaceful.

"I said no!" he yelled, shaking him. Rei opened his eyes again, a cocky, yet weak smile in place.

"I finally have the nerve to say it... Kai..." Kai blinked in confusion.

"What... Say what?" he asked, his voice cracking. Rei forced a small chuckle from his throat.

"I hated... that stupid collar..." Kai felt his heart sink in his chest. "Oh and... one more... thing..." Rei's speech was beginning to slur.

"What...?" Rei raised a hand onto his stomach and with a bit of struggling, was able to raise his hand to Kai's trembling face.

"I... love you..." Kai's body froze as his face became neutral; void of any expression. Rei's hand shook for a second as it slowly slipped off of Kai's cheek. Kai could feel the cold sick smear of blood across his painted face, his lip trembling as Rei's eyes softened and dulled. Kai's hand on Rei's chest shook for a second then abruptly stopped. He could no longer feel Rei's heart beat.

Madeline turned to the man beside her and sobbed against his chest, an utter feeling of defeat heavy on both their astral shoulders.

"We can no longer stay here..." he whispered. Their souls began to slowly fade into the nothingness of the room, dimming it to its former blackness. Kai pulled himself up into a sitting position watching Rei's body with a pain in his chest.

"What... do you think you're doing...?" he said, anger taking over his entire being. "You'd better wake up right now..." he hissed, a small spark of flame lighting the room once again. "I said... get up!" he yelled, the fire erupting into every inch of the small room. Miss Mary's body completely disintegrated within the flames, leaving no trace of her existence. "Get up!" Kai yelled again, fiery feathers surrounding him.

He drew in a breath to yell again, but stopped as Rei began to whimper in pain. Kai looked up taking notice of the soft feathers around him and drew himself together with a determined expression.

"I'm not letting you go! Not again! I need you with me, Rei! Don't leave me by myself!" Kai crushed Rei's body against his, trapping the emerging spirit inside. Slowly, the fire licked at Rei's body, burning away the mars and bruises as it did so. Rei's eyes opened to reveal a flash of light as his spirit danced within him, unable to find a stationary point to hold on to.

"It hurts!" he yelped, his hands rising to grip onto Kai's shirt.

"I know... I know it does, but bear with me, Rei. You can pull through. I need you to pull through for me!" Kai soothed, holding Rei as close as possible. The flames began to disperse as they reached the peak of their action. With a final yell, Rei's eyes focused into their familiar golden radiance and his skin shone with life. Rei gripped Kai's shoulders with a deathly hold, bruising the skin as Kai held steadfast. Soon, the light faded and Rei's body went limp. Kai fell forward panting for lost breath on Rei's beating chest.

He pulled his head up to look at Rei's trembling face, smiling softly as the neko-jin tried to catch his breath. He placed a trembling hand on Rei's untouched face and stroked it softly. Rei's eyes began to open, a flash of golden meeting with the tired crimson of Kai's own orbs.

"Kai... I'm sorry... I almost..." Rei discontinued as Kai weakly pulled himself forward and gently kissed his lips. Rei shut his eyes tightly, his body still too weak to really move.

"I love you, Rei... So much..." Rei grabbed Kai's shirt as Kai lifted him up and into his arms. He held Rei as the boy softly sobbed.

It was finally over...

* * *

oOoOoOoOoOo

* * *

Kai released a soft sigh as the wind gently played with his silvery bangs and long dark coat. He stood on the rim of a boat, watching the crystal blue waters clash beneath him. 

"There you are!" Kai looked up in surprise and turned to see Rei pouting at him a few feet away. Kai watched as the boy walked up in a huff, his long white sleeves and tunic flaps fluttering gently in the cool ocean breeze. Rei turned to Kai pushing his long raven braid behind him. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You promised to show me the dolphins on shore!" he whined. Kai gazed at him for a while, before smiling softly and placing a gloved hand on Rei's cheek. Rei blushed lightly at the action, his anger fading.

"You can see them fine from everywhere, Rei..." he said. Rei blinked with large curious eyes.

"Really? Where?" Rei began to search the sea for the dolphins, but frowned when he could find none. He sighed and slumped against the railing. "They must hate me..." he whined. He felt Kai pull his bangs away from his face and looked up in question. Kai continued to smile at him. "What? What are you smiling for...?" Rei's eyes slid shut as Kai leaned forward, softly capturing his frowning lips in a slow kiss.

Rei's lips curled upward a margin as he opened his mouth, allowing Kai entrance, and wrapped his covered arms around Kai's neck. Kai pulled Rei to him, never wanting to let go again. They soon separated with a content smile on Rei's face.

"What was that for?" he asked, grinning like an idiot. Kai shrugged, playfully rubbing his nose against Rei's, earning a chuckle.

"You know..." he began. Rei looked up, his eyes bright with wonder.

"What?"

"It's not very smart to be spending so much time around water, Rei..." Rei gave him a questioning look, then smiled nervously.

"Oh yeah..." Rei pulled one hand in front of his face, smiling at the tiny sparks that flew across his fingers. "That maybe true, Kai... But..." Kai raised an eyebrow as Rei glared at him. "You promised to show me dolphins, so get to looking for them!" Kai sighed in exasperation, turning away, and releasing Rei from his grip.

"Oh boy..."

"Don't you walk away from me! I want to see dolphins!" Kai raced down the length of the boat with Rei right on his heels, passing by Tyson and Hilary sitting side by side on the dock. The two exchanged sheepish grins as Kai leapt off the boat, Rei inches behind.

"Aw, how cute..." Max sighed, licking the ice cream in his hand as Kai and Rei rushed past him. Kai turned back with a smirk as Rei chased him, enjoying the irritated look on the boy's face. He suddenly stopped, turning his heel on the sandy beach and held out his arms.

"Kai, you idiot!" Rei shrieked as he barreled into him, knocking them both in the water. Rei sat up, gasping for air as he flailed his arms, his outfit completely soaked. "I'm going to..." Rei trailed off as he watched Kai gazing at the setting sun in the distance.

"It's kind of nice to go on a vacation without a bunch of supernatural crap going on..." Rei felt himself smile in agreement.

"Very true..." Rei didn't mind the soaking feeling of water in his pants so much anymore as he leaned against Kai's shoulder, sighing contently as Kai pulled him closer.

"Um... Excuse me?" Both teens quickly pulled apart, acting as though they hadn't done anything and turned back to see a scrawny man standing on the beach. Rei tilted his head in confusion as Kai stood.

"Yes?" he asked, thoroughly annoyed.

"Yes, I have a letter for a... Rei Kon," he said, handing an envelope to Kai. Kai took it, looking it over as it slowly became wet from the water on his hand.

"What's this for...?" he asked, looking up. He paled in fright as the beach was suddenly empty again. "Oh, shi-"

"It's for me, right?" Rei asked, interrupting the older teen's previous thoughts. Kai stood silent as Rei snatched the letter and opened it. "OH MY GAWD!" Kai snapped around just in time to catch Rei as he jumped toward him. Kai carried Rei's trembling body in a bridal fashion with a look of dismay.

"What is it!" he asked. Rei pointed to the piece of paper lying in the sand partly covered. Kai gently placed Rei on the ground and carefully picked up the paper. In huge letters, written with smears of a dark red liquid, "This isn't over..." spilled across the dampened paper.

"She's coming to get us!" Rei yelped, running in circles. Kai turned the paper over and read carefully, smiling softly. Rei continued to race around, until he was swept up back into the bridal fashion within Kai's arms.

"Calm down, Rei."

"But, but, but-"

"It's alright..." Kai said, walking back toward the concrete area of the beach. "I don't think that awful woman will ever bother us again..."

"What makes you so sure?" Rei whined, grabbing Kai's shirt. Kai could only smile.

"Just a feeling..." Rei continued to pout all the way back to the boat as the two left the quiet beach. The small piece of paper blew in the breeze, catching itself in the waves. Upon the back, a comforting phrase slowly washed away in the depths of the sea.

_"It's just the beginning... Love, Madeline..."_

* * *

The End...

* * *

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've finally finished! I personally enjoyed writing this and look out, I may make a sequel, which I MAY have already started... 

Anyways, I hope you liked it and I do plan on writing this with original characters as a screenplay or something. I may have to change a few things though... Like Rei's gender...

So, yeah, review and make me happy! Goodnight, and pleasant dreams...


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